




.^,,.,1" 







BY 

Edward Everett Hale. 




LOTRF^OP PuBLl^fil^vG (OMPANY 

Bo.^TOI^. 



JUN 6 



m 



^WvofCo^^C 



''ary of 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Cliap.Mi^* Copyright No. 

Shelt.tilA._. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



YOUNG AMERICANS ABROAD 



Being a Family Flight by four young people and 
their parents through France and Germany 



BY 

EDWARD EVERETT HALE AND SUSAN HALE 




ILLUSTRATED 




BOSTON 
LOTHROP PUBLISHING COMPANY 



1898, 



3>o n n 



COPYBIGHT, 1898, 
BY 

LoTHEOP Publishing Company. 



7G54 



THE LIBRARY 
OF CONGRESS 

WASHIWGT OWg 



J) 






Plimpton ^^ress 

H. M. PLIMPTON i CO., PRINTERS i BINDERS, 
NORWOOD, MASS., U.S.A. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. ^'''^ 

Are You ready ? Go ! j . 

CHAPTER II. 
On Deck , . 

CHAPTER III. 

How IT CAME ABOUT - j 

CHAPTER Iv. 

What came about 

41 

CHAPTER V. 

The Voyage 

49 

CHAPTER VI. 

The Bells ^ 

60 

CHAPTER VII. 
The Arrival ^. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Dear Paris ^ 

70 

CHAPTER IX. 

Sight-Seeing o 

03 

CHAPTER X. 

A Visit ^ 

96 

CHAPTER XI. 

Versailles 

107 



Contents. 



CHAPTER XII. 
Tommy's Lark 1 16 

CHAPTER XI 1 1. 
The Louvre 123 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Last Days in Paris 135 

CHAPTER XV. 
Out of France 144 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Into Germany ici 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Christmas 160 

CHAPTER XVin. 



Mr. Hervey, 



170 



CHAPTER XIX. 



Weimar 



CHAPTER XX. 
Dresden 102 

' CHAPTER XXI. 
St. Elizabeth 20c 

CHAPTER XXII. 
Eisenach , 214 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
A Bomb , 223 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
Berlin 234 



YOUNG AMERICANS ABROAD 



CHAPTER I. 



ARE YOU READY? GO ! 

HERE is Tom !" 

It was certainly th^j fifth time that this question 
has been asked since breakfast. To the some- 
what excited apprehension of Mr. Horner, it 
seemed the twentieth. For Mr Horner, though 
a man of affairs, was a little thrown off liis bal- 
ance, now. 

" I don't care where he is," said he. " Let 
him stay with the newsboys, if he wants to." 

The occasion was the filing under sheds, be- 
tween piles of oranges and cotton bales, news- 
boys and draymen, of a procession, male and 
female, old and young, which tumbled out, both 
hands of everybody full, from carriages on the 
street, and in disorderly order came in sight of the 
black hull of the jSt. Laurent, on the outside of the landing-sheds of the 
Compagnie Generale Trans-Atlantique. This procession was the Horner 
family, leaving New York for Havre. Tom was the youngest of this 
family, and he had now disappeared for the fifth time since breakfast, 
" Never fear for Tom," said Philip, who had risen to the emero-encies 
of a departure, and allied himself to the side of authority. "Never 
fear for Tom, I will see to him as soon as I leave mamma's things 




16 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



in her state-room. This way, mamma. This way, Bessie. Papa, you 
are quite wrong." 

For Phil had been on board three times already with other boys from 




AT THE PIER. 

Mr. Newell's school, on one pretext or another, and was proud of 
being the pilot. 

Across the gangway, where even the most timid could not tremble ; 
between chattering French bonnes and dirty travelling pedlars ; declininc 
endless invitations to purchase rosebuds, neglecting all overtures from 

white-aproned waiters, 
who wished to take 
fi-om him his mother's 
umbrella, camp-stool, 
novel, Bible, and plaid 
which, at the last mo- 
ment, Phil had taken 
in charge, he threaded 
the wa}' through the 
large, dark saloon. He 
pushed between a box 
of Apollinaris water 
and a steward with a 
tray, carrying cham- 
pagne ; he threw open 
a state-room door, and 
said witli exultation, 
" There ! " This was 
the large and spacious apartment of which Mrs. Horner had heard so 
much. Alas for human expectations and the limitations of languao-e I 




KOSEBUi) 



ARE YOU READY? GO! 17 

"Now," said Phil, "I will find Tom." 

In Jacob Abbott's travelling directions the instructions for finding a 
lost' boy are these: "Look for him where the monkeys are."' These 
directions Phil remembered. But there were no monkeys within a mile 
of the pier. Phil thought of the steerage passengers. 

He ran down the pier to the place where they were buying their tin 
mugs, and the rest of their outfit. 

For, if you be a child of the public, and travel in the steerage, Europe 
requires none of the long preparations which luxury exacts. If yoi. 
are so fortunate as to travel as the masses do, you say at eleven 
o'clock, " I think I will go across, and see the old folks ! " You take an 
Eight Avenue car up-town, for five cents ; you run to the ticket office 
on the pier, as if it were the ferry to Jersey City, and you buy your 
ticket there. There is a woman handy at a bench, who will sell you a tin 
mug, a towel if you need, a basin if you are particular, and a brush and 
comb if you are luxurious ; and having bought these, you go on board. 
As you cross the gangway, the man in charge cries, "All ashore!" the 
landsmen leave the ship, and you cross the ocean and see your father. 
For the Horners, alas ! because they were more luxurious, more prepara- 
tion had been necessary ; and so it was that they had lost Tom, and that 
Phil was in search of him. 

But Phil's first dive for Tom was wrong. He was not buying a tin 
cup nor a wash-basin. 

" Here's your nice oranges, seven for a shilling," said a stout woman 
holding an orange in one hand, and opening a paper box with 
another. 

Phil did not lose his temper, but asked if a little boy had bought 
oranges. Not a boy had been near the place. 

Phil looked for an officer. Nobody but the uniformed men of the 
steamer were to be seen. They were amused, interested, but 
stupid ; and spoke no language to any purpose, but French. 

Phil tried the boys selling newspapers, also, but they were amused, 
and did their best to sell him. He tried a bootblack with no better 
luck. 

At this moment, a very portlv policeman in full metropolitan 



18 



A FAMILY FLIGH'J'. 






uniform, strutted with dignity through the spectators and idlers, and 
touched the gangway man witli his baton. 

" Go and call the 
sliij)"s doctor ! " 

The first mate was 
standing close by, and 
quickened the m a n 
who was uriderneath : 
" Vite, vite ; par ici ! " 
he cried out. pointing 
to the upper deck, 
where the doctor was 
standing. The police- 
man turned slowly up, 
saying quietly to the 
Frenchman, " The boy 
has broken his leg." 

PhiFs heart sunk 
within him. But he 
rushed up througli all 
the sheds, — jostling 
porters and express- 
men, and steerage peo- 
ple with indifference, 
— came out into the 
sunlight, and there was master Tom, sitting on an upturned bucket, 
with a little dirty baby lying across his knees, whose mother, on her 
knees, was washing the child's face. 

In fact, nobody's leg was broken. That was the policeman's exag- 
geration. The incident was well-nigh exhausted. Tom had not been 
able to resist the temptation to help these people out from the furniture 
wagon which had brought their trunks. The baby was rolled in the mud 
by a big dog. Tom went into the mud for him, as his costume well 
indicated. And wlieu Phil led him from the scene in triumph, he was 
more dirty than he ever remembered to have been before. 




A BOOTBLACK. 



ARE YOU READY? GO! 



19 



" Here's your Swn, — Herald, — Express, — Graphic, and all the late 
second editions, for a quarter ! " 

'^ Here's your seven fresh oranges for a shilling ! " 

'' Here's your nice new cups — no soft soder about them — towels, 
and basins ! " 

"Please take some flowers," said a shabby girl, courtesying. 

But Phil resisted 
all these syrens. 

" Come across the 
forward passage here, 
Tom ! I can clean 
you before mamma 



sees vou 




Actually, the boy 
succeeded in leading 
his muddy brother to 
their state-room unde- 
tected. In a minute 
Tom's valise was open ; 
he was bidden to dress 
himself in his "next 
better-most " clothes. 
Phil loitered on deck, 
as if unconcerned, just 
as Mr. Horner was 
adjusting his wife's 
arm-chair. Mr. Horner 
had already forgotten 
that Tom was lost. 

But Mrs. Horner said, "Oh, Phil, are you there? I was afraid you 
were lost too. What have 3^ou done with Tom ? " 

" Oh, Tom is in our state-room, mamma. He will be up in a minute." 

Thus did the prudent lad save his brother from one reprimand. 

" That's better than could be hoped," said his mother. " When they 
asked for the doctor, I was afraid Tom's neck was broken." 



iNE OF THE FLOWER GIKLS. 



20 A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

One worry had driven out another, and the boys found, not for the 
first time, that Tom's absence had not been so much noticed as it 
really deserved ; the cause of anxiety now was the non-appearance of 
Miss Augusta Lejeune. 

" I knew it would be so," plaintively said Mrs. Horner. " My plan 
was a great deal better, that she should spend the night with us and 
be all ready to start in the morning. To be sure, she hates an early 
breakfast." 

" I never could find out," said Mr. Horner, " why we had it an 
hour earlier than usual, as the boat does not start till twelve." 

" My dear, we should never have got here, if we had had a minute 
less time," rejoined his wife. 

He looked at his watch. "It is only half-past eleven," he said. 
"She is sure to be here." 

They were all anxious, though. The two girls, Mary and Bessie, stood 
watching the streams of people passing up the gangway, hoping to 
catch a glimpse of Miss Lejeune, while they kept up a desultory talk 
with their cousins, who had come to see them off, and who stood about 
without much to say, beyond envying them the trip, and urging them to 
be sure to write. The moment is too confused for deep thought or 
the interchange of serious sentiment, and it is hard to fill up the time 
with frivolities. 

At last there seemed an unusual movement at the passage way nearest 
them ; the buzz of voices, laughter, and gay chattering ; and Miss Lejeune 
appeared below, escorted by two or three gentlemen and one or two 
ladies, all carrying bouquets or parcels. 

" Here we are," called Philip, leaning over the rail. Miss Augusta 
looked up and nodded, and with her escort joined them above 
in a few moments. 

"Well, Augusta, I knew you would be late !" reproachfully said 
Mrs. Horner. 

"My dear, there is half an hour yet, but I did mean to be here 
sooner. It is so hard to get away, though! And we had a lovely 
breakfast. See all these flowers! What shall I do with them? 
Mr. Strain, do not hold them any longer. Put then down anywhere. 




TRINITY CHURCH. 



ABE YOU READY? GO! ^.^ 



Has anybody seen my ship-chair? Oh, thank you, Mr. Horner; how 
thouglitful I Her« it is, close by the others. Are we aU here ? Wher- 
is my friend Tommy <* " 

At this precise moment Tommy appeared from below. A vague 
thought passed through his mother's mind that those were not the clothes 
she had seen him m last ; but the idea was diverted by talk and introduc- 
tions, and last words to all the fiiends. 

Mr. Agry, che partner of her father, had a great deal of teasing 
with Bessie, by way of farewell. 

" Now, Bessie, what do you expect to see abroad that will repay you 
for going?" he asked. 

" Oh, a great many things," said Bessie, rather embarrassed. 

"Such as what? Come, now," he persisted. 

"Well, mountains and churches—'" the cliild began vaguely. 

" Churches ! now I will venture to bet with you, Bessie, a pound 
of the best sugar-plums you can buy in Europe that you do not see 
a single church finer than Trinity church, in New York." 

" I do not believe I kuow how Trinity church looks," replied the 
frank Bessie, blushing. "I must have passed it ever so many times, 
but I do not look at these things much." 

The laugh was against her. 

" Take care and buy yourself a new kind of spectacles," said Mr. 
Agry, "or when you come back you will not know whether you 
have gained your bet or not." 

Bessie promised to look particularly at churches in all the cities 
she should visit , and it was agreed that the first thing on her return, 
Mr. Agry was to take her to thoroughly inspect Trinity chuich, 
and pronounce upon its architectural merits, compared with the 
cathedrals of the old world. 



24 A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



CHAPTER 11. 

ON DECK. 

AND now they could begin to see what wisdom and what folly com- 
bines, in a space not large, as three hundred people from one 
continent leave it for another. 

Pretty Miss Wither reclined in her chaise-longue, and received the 
homage of her admirers, who came to say good-by, while tired Mrs. 
Wither, her mother, sat bolt upright beside her, and received very 
little homage. One young gentleman had brought a splendid nosegay, 
of fifty jaqueminot roses. Another, more modest, had brought fifty 
white lamarques. Miss Wither, gracious to both, had one in one 
hand and one in another. Then blushing Mr. Jourdan, more demon- 
strative, brought fifty moss-roses, and Miss Wither, still trying to be equal 
in her courtesy, was fain to lay the jaqueminots in her lap, that she 
might have a hand free for the moss-roses. Young Mr. Macullar 
sauntered round the group, quite indifferent. But the others all 
looked as if they would eat him, because he was going on the ship, 
and would be perpetually in Miss Wither's presence, while, alas I 
their nosegays would certainl}' fade. And fade they did; but one. 
she had promised to keep, lasted longer than the rest. 

On the other side the deck was more tragedy. Thei-e, sweet, pale 
Mrs. Lampe, in her widow's cap, was kissing, — she could not kiss 
often enough, — Agatha and Laura, who were on their way to Wiesbaden 
to see the grandfather and grandmother whose dear faces tliey knew 
so well, but whom they had never seen. 

" There's the boy ! there's the boy ! " cried Mr. Macullar. " This way, 
this way, quick ! " 

The boy was bringing Mr. Macullar's hat-box, wliicli liad been 
foro-otten at the Windsor. 



ON DP.CK. 



25 



" Has any one seen a mail or a boy from the druggist's at the corner 
of Twenty-Sixth street?" 

This question was drawled out to Phil by an old lady, who, at 
the last, had telephoned for toilet-powder. 

His brother Tom joined him, after his rapid toilet, and, dashed a 



I 'i , ' I. .1 i|ii!il'.IHiir •''I,''' "''llllll tl' 




linliliiiSi 



JjiJ 



UKK FAVoiaXE IM^K. 



little by Phil's brief but solid exhortations, which, to say truth, affected 
the boy more than his father's or mother's did, he kept quite closely 



26 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



glued to him through the half hour which leiiiained to them of 
America. 

Of a sudden the horses on the pier were checked and drawn back, 
and eight or ten policemen, in a column of two, pressed forward. Two 
of these men took possession of one gangway, two of another. They 
would let no one pass either way. Even the orange-men and newsboys, 
impressed by the spectacle, stopped their clamor and gathered around the 
gangway, to look on. The commander of the policemen spoke to the 
mate of the ship, and in a moment more, four of them, with as many 

men wearing the ship's 
uniform, were hurried 
on board. 

Phil and Tom were 
highly excited, and 
ran and called their 
father. 

"Clearly," he said 
to them, "they hope 
to find some fugitive 
from justice, or some 
man or woman who 
is trying to escape 
to Europe; probably 
some thief who has 
stolen valuable prop- 
erty," And as the 
boys looked on and 
wondered, they saw, 
in a minute more, that 
no one below was 
permitted to come up 
to them ; that no one on their deck was permitted to go down ; no 
person aft was permitted to go forward, and no person forward, 
to come aft. In a minute more the captain of the policemen, who 
wore a newer cap and more gold lace than the others, passed 




oKAAGE Woman. 



ON DECK. 21 

the guard at the companion way and came upon their deck. He 
touched his hat civilly, two or three times, as he passed gentlemen 
whom perhaps he knew; he looked very carefully at every one, not 
coming near to anybody. Then he strode by the boys upou the 
bridge, and looked down on the forward deck. Alas ! in a moment 
all was over. From the depths of the ship up came a gabbling French 
sailor in his red shirt sleeves ; and behind him followed the poor 
prisoner, with a parcel done up in a newspaper containing his pos- 
sessions, and the policeman who had arrested him following the two. 

"That is the man," said the officer hastily. "I am much obliged 
to you, captain." 

Then he called to his men below, "■ Take him to the station ! Good- 
day, sir; good-day, sir," and things began as before. 

" Here's your seven oranges for thirteen cents ! " 

"Here's your Sun and Herald!'''' and the boys were left to wonder 
what had been stolen and what the prisoner's name was. Nobody knew, 
and, excepting themselves, nobody cared. 

And now, very soon, people who were particularly afraid of being 
carried to France without their own consent, took leave. Miss Lejeune's 
friends bowed and shook hands ; there was much kissing of the two 
Jadies who had accompanied her, and a few last words in a low tone. 

" You know, if the lace is eight inches wide it will do. I had rather 
have the pattern just right, than the width. Still, nine inches is better, 
you know." 

" I know, my dear, exactly what you want ; and then I am to give 
It to the Smiths if they are coming over ; and if they spend the winter 
r shall easily find some one else." 

There were plenty of well-wishers for each of the party. Phil's 
friends and Tom's were, alas ! ignorainiously caged in their respective 
schools, where the masters, tyrants that they were, could not be 
made to say that the sailing of the St. Laurent was an occasion of 
sufficient national importance to justify a holiday. But many of the girl 
friends of Mary and Bessie were there. And one by one they took 
Phil aside, and pressed on him little notes for Bessie which he was to 
keep secret, one till the fourth day, one till the fifth, and oiie till the 



28 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



sixth of the passage, when they were to be put on her plate at breakfast 
as a surprise. And, lest Phil should forget, Tom received presents oi 
barley sugar and candied fruit, in return for which he gladly promised 
to remind Phil. But Phil said, rather grimly and quizzically, that he 
thought he should remember better than Tom. 

Thus there was much chaffing and laughing, but Miss Lejeune, even, 

was beginning to get tired 
of it, and Mr. Horner, who 
was unusually nervous on 
this occasion, and rather fus- 
sy, was bored by all these 
admirers. He heartily wished 
they would carry themselves 
off. 

" There is a bell ! " he said 
pointedly, and true enough, 
something did sound some- 
where. Every one started, 
and the parting-guest-speeders 
gathered themselves together 
with renewed hand-shaking 
and kissing, and promises to 
write. If the Horners had 
written all the letters they 
then agreed to, they would 
have had no time, through 
the year of their absence, to go anywhere, or see anything. 

The friends now disposed themselves in favorable positions on the 
pier, for waving of handkerchiefs and other solemnities of good-bye. 
More hardy people, who had done the same thing often before, waited 
with audacity, till they should be ordered on shore by the officers. 
The sailors were at their posts. Few carriages came down the pier, and 
it was fairly still. For every cabin passenger had come half an hour 
early, and the steerage people came b}^ street cars, and walked down the 
pier. But a messenger would hurry up with flowers, or an expressman 




AT THE GUN. 



ON DECK. 29 

with state-room stores which had been delaj^ed. And at last, with great 
fuss and display, came the gaily painted wagon with Uncle Sam's mails. 
These were bundled on board with much more parade, Phil thought, 
than the occasion justified. When they were fairly hidden away, Mr. 
Agry seemed to think the time had come. 

" Give yourself no anxiety, old fellow," he said to Mr. Horner, as he 
gave his hand the last shake ; " it will be all right." 

" Good-bye, Mrs. Horner," as he turned to her. " If j^our husband 
writes a line about business, put it into the fire ; if he says a word 
about it, kill him." 

"One kiss. Miss Mary," to that young lady; "you are looking better 
already." 

" Don't forget a yellow feather for your bonnet, Bessie. Rue Tom 
Dick and Harry, Numero 99, remember." This was some further non- 
sense between them. 

" My dear Miss Lejeune, why did not you ask me to come ? I 
would have exploded dynamite under the offices, killed all the clients 
and customers, and joined you gladly. 

" Phil, my lad, good-bye ; you are the only level-headed person 
in this crowd. Do not let them work too hard, and take Tom 
to the Zoo. 

" Tom, I heard you were lost, but you seem to be all right. Good- 
bye, all ! Good-bye ! " 

"All ashore ! all ashore ! " cried the officer in good French-American 
dialect. 

Mr. Agry ran ashore. The gangway rolled on shore. The bell rang, 
the whistle sounded and the screw turned slowly. Phil saw, with a 
certain reverence, the great piston slowly rise. In a moment he and 
Tom were on the bridge, and the others resting on the rail. Their 
handkerchiefs were flying, the school-girls on the pier were waving 
theirs. They could see Mr. Agry tie his upon a stick. 

" Are you sick, yet ? " cried Emma Fortinbras to Mary, as she waved 
her parasol. Everybody laughsd at Emma's joke, and these were, as 
it happened, the last words which America addressed to the voyagers. 

Phil staid on the bridge till the last handkerchief was out of sight ; 



30 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



to his surprise and disgust, as he put his own away, he found he was 
wiping fresh tears from his cheeks. How they came there he did not 
know. He led Tom to see the man at the wheel. 

And so in less than half an hour, the pier was deserted. 

A few people to whom the parting was a serious one, since those who 
now left them were going for a long time, perhaps never to return, 
lingered at the edge of the water to follow the recedirg steamer, as. 
after turning her huge bulk with difficulty, she was ui;der way, and 
moved off with dignity through the heaving waves. When the long 
line of smoke was utterly confounded with the masts ?.nd confused 
lines of distance, even these with a sigh turned away, and SI0WI3- walked 
back through the empty warehouses to busy Broadway. 




BUSY BROADWAY 



HOW IT CAME ABOUT 8J 



CHAPTER III. 

HOW IT CAME ABOUT. 

MARY was not very well in the spring. They took her out of 
school for a while, but slie missed the society of the girls, and 
went back again. Her eyes troubled her when she was over a 
German dictionary, but she did not think of it when she was 
reading the novels which would get into the house, although Mrs. 
Horner did not altogether approve of any of them, and especially 
not of the fine print of cheap editions. 

Decidedly Mary read too much and played too little. She was 
growing fast, and felt a little superior to the sports of the children, 
while she found herself shy and silent in the society of older people. 
She took no interest in breakfast, was apt to be late in the morn- 
ing, and after looking with scorn upon the cold toast and warmed- 
over chop, to hastily drink some milk, snatch an apple for luncheon 
and start off for school, in a state of mind described as "cross" 
by the younger children. Her mother, having compassion on her, 
did not call such hard names, but thought this would never do, 
turned it over and over in her mind, and consulted her friends. 

"Why don't you send her abroad," said a chance visitor. 

^' Don't you think it would be well to send her abroad ? " said 
an elderly friend of the family. 

" Change of scene," pronounced the family doctor. " Send her 

abroad." 

In fact a chorus of voices filled the air, echoing, reverberating the 

advice "send her abroad." 

Now this is a very dangerous influence to creep into a family. 
It soon pervaded the atmosphere, and undermined the stability of 



32 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



the very foundations of the house. There began to be a feeling 
that perhaps Mary would go abroad, which unsettled the routine 
of every day. After such an idea was admitted, anything niiglit 
happen. The very suggestion had given a little extra importance 
to the girl. She carried her head a little higlier, and the color, too 
rare of late, showed itself in her cheeks. Almost without discussion 
it came to be an established fact that Mary was to go abroad, but 
the how, when and where, were still a mighty problem to be solved. 

There was in the circle of the family a certain person much 
valued and considered by them all, young and old. She was not 
a relative, although called aunt Gus by the younger children, Augusta 
by the parents. She was supposed to have been an intimate friend 
of mamma's, ages ago, in that mystical period when she was a girl. 
Papa seems to have taken kindly to her at the time of his marriage 
to mamma, and since then she gradually became built into the 
family. She did not live with them, but in another part of New 
York, very independently, in rooms by herself. For aunt Gus 
was not married, but a spinster ; one of that valuable class whose 
merits are growing more and more to be appreciated as the world 
grows older, and they grow younger ; since it is a singular fact 
that whereas such persons used to be called " old maids " they are 
now acknowledged to possess the advantage of perennial youth. 

Miss Augusta was highly accomplished, well-informed and agreeable. 
She had been abroad several times, and spoke several languages, 
"well enough to get along," as she herself expressed it. The very 
first thing Mrs. Horner thought of about Mary's going, she confessed 
to her husband, would be to have Augusta take her. 

But would Augusta go again and leave her cosy little apartment, 
all her charities and philanthropies, her book-clubs and cook-clubs, 
her Decorative and Useful Arts, her tiles and her embroideries? 
For Miss Lejeune dabbled a little in everything. 

Miss Augusta would go. She would sell her shares in the Arizona- 
Smelting and Mining Company, and go with that. It w?.s now five 
years since she had tasted Europe, and she would like to try it 
again, and besides she felt it a dutv to relieve poor dear Jeannj'- 




MARY HOKNEK. 



HOW IT CAME ABOUl. 35 

of her worry about Mary. Jeannie was Mrs, Horner. Persuade 
any single woman that a pleasure is a duty, and she is secured 
for it. 

And now about the heads of the Homers, cnme tumbling avalanches 
of advice, suggestion and warning. Guide-books and maps poured 
ni, as it were, at the doors and windows. Experienced travellers 
talked to them bj' the hour of what Mary must and must not do, 
as if the future of the Amei'ican nation depended upon the arrange- 
ment of her plan of travel. Long before they had really begun 
to think what she should do, or where she should go, or how long 
she should stay, all these things had been discussed and decided 
by friends and relatives, far and near, who thus had themselves all 
the pleasure, and none of the anxieties, of planning the trip. 

Mr. Horner contemplated these ominous symptoms rather gloomily, 
although he had assented at first to the plan. He was very fond 
of Mary, and liked to have her about. He had never been abroad, 
and had an idea, perhaps exaggerated, of the size, and especiall)^ of 
the depth, of the Atlantic ocean. On general principles, he disap- 
proved of American girls travelling, and he professed a vague fear 
that Mary might be snapped up by some foreigner, — • by which he 
meant matrimonially. 

But who can resist the attraction of travel, when it once is in 
the air ! Miss Lejeune came round in the evenings, and different 
routes were discussed. Little time-tables of steamers were lying 
about, and the conversation turned frequently on the respective 
merits of the different lines. Mr. Horner was all for a Cunarder. 
He had always heard they were so safe, and a number of wise saws 
of the same description, as that Britannia rules the seas ; that the English 
steamers are the best in the world ; that the captains sit up all night 
and change tlie watch themselves, and that speed is not so impor- 
tant as a steady keel. He was even a little disposed to have them 
o-o to Boston and sail from there ; since the Boston Cunard steamers, 
being smaller and dirtier than the New York ones, would be in 
proportion safer. 

Miss Augusta Lejeune, on the other hand, was in favor of the 



36 A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

White Star line. She had been pnt off with Ciinarders, — yes, onc€ 
even with a Boston Cunarder, — all her life, on account of the safety, 
and had always longed for a White Star. The reputation of this 
line is more established every year, and really it was ridiculous in 
her estimation, to doubt its safety, and to allow such doubts to 
outweigh the great comfort and enjoyment of the clean, big state- 
rooms, and well-ordered management. 

Thus they talked ; but as it happened, Miss Augusta even now 
failed to go by her favorite Wliite Star line. There seemed to be 
no real reason for going first to England, as one of their settled 
wishes was to get soon to Paris. The Horners liked to please them- 
selves with the idea that so much outlay and expense was for the 
benefit of Mary's languages, as well as of her health ; it appeared, 
in oiic sense, to be a waste of material to be travelling in England, 
where no dictionary is needed. Miss Lejeune had spent a good deal 
of time in Paris, and felt more at home there than in London, and 
then the Stu^^vesants were in Paris, old friends, who would be 
delighted to have Mary come straight to them. And so they one 
day decided to " cut the little island entirely for the present," as 
Miss Lejeune expressed it, and to take a state-room in the French 
steamer St. Laurent. 

In this way they would avoid crossing the channel, and if they^ 
chose to stop at Brest, they would avoid the channel altogether. 
This was Mr. Horner's proposal, whose feeling was that ever}- drop 
of the ocean was one drop in the bucket too mucli ; Miss Augusta 
held her peace, knowing pretty well that when they were fairly on 
the voyage, twenty-four hours more or less would not make much 
difference, and that Havre would prove to be, most likely, their des- 
tination. Miss Augusta hated so much discussion, though she bore 
it pretty well. "If only once we get off," she thought a dozen 
times a day, " we can settle everything as we please." 

One thing being established, their steamer, plans began to 
take a definite aspect ; and the delightful task of adopting and 
rejecting became the sole occupation of the little circle. Pater 
familias was getting interested. He talked Europe with people 



HOW IT CAME ABOUT. 



3f 




BACHAEACH. 



down town who convinced liini, by turns, of the absolute importance 
of a great many things. One day he came home full of the Fair 
at Nidji Novgorod, which they must not miss whatever they did ; 
viother time he brought the prospectus of a pension in Bacliarach, 



iO 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



a small towu in the western part of Bavaria, where they could talk 
the language, and learn more than by any amount of travelling. 

On one particular day Mr. Horner came home with an air of 
something unusual about him. He got through dinner talking les£ 
than ordinary, and when towards the end, the children slipped off 
as they usually did, especially if the pudding lacked attraction, even 
Mary on this occasion, though she of late staj'^ed to talk with the 
elders, going away to prepare for a concert, — 

" My dear, — " said the father of the family, and then paused. 

" Well, what is it, Philip ? " said Mrs. Horner. " I see that something 
is on your mind," 

" Well, Jeannie," be continued, then paused again ; but added 
with a jerk, " Brown thinks we had better all go ! " 

" All go ! "' repeated Mrs. Horner in amazement. 

There was no question in her mind about the words, though the;y 
might seem to require amplification. "Go" meant "go abroad" 
and "all" meant the Horners, ew masse. The subject had so filled 
their minds of late that there was no room for any other. 

Mrs. Horner gasped a little, and then said calmly, " Why not ! " 




WHAl CAME ABOUT. 



41 



CHAPTER IV. 



WHAT CAME ABOUT. 

THUS it was settled that the whole family should go abroad, and 
this is why they were all to be found on the deck of the 
Bteamer St. Laurent in the first chapter. 

The plan once admitted, excellent reasons were found to cover 

each member. Mr. Horner 
needed a change. Stocks 
had been rising and travel- 
ling is always a safe in- 
vestment. Its dividends 
are good health and good 
spirits, funds of informa- 
tion and retrospect, with- 
out mentioning photo- 
graphs and carved work, 
or the clothes from Paris 
which are brought back 
in the trunks of the re- 
turning tourists. 

Bessie was delighted. 
In the original plan, no- 
body had much thought 
about her interests. She 
was one of the plump, 
easy-going children, whom 
do one thinks much about, because they have a knack of looking after 
themselves. She was a year younger than Mary, perfectly well, per 




BESSIE'S BEST DOLL. 



f^i A FAMILY FLIGHT, 

fectly good-natured, quiet in her movements, and prone to accept the 
existing order of things. So she had not grumbled at "all the fuss,'* 
as she might have called it, about Mary's health and Mary's trip ; but 
now it was decided that all were to go, her round face beamed like 
a full moon; she immediately set about packing a small box with 
her favorite dolls, — for she was one of the girls who kept u[) ht-r affec- 
tion for dolls, even to the age of thirteen, and promised herself that 
pleasure until she should be married. 

The oldest son of the family was named Philip, but as this was 
his father's name, he had come to be called Jack, very generally, no 
one knew why, exactly. He at once recognized the advantages of a 
long holiday, and total freedom from school. More than any of the 
rest, he dwelt on the pleasures of the voyage, and looked forward 
with impatience to the trip on the steamer. His mother had to caution 
him, in private, not to talk too much about this part of it before his 
father, who detested the sea and boats of every description, who visibly 
flinched whenever he thought of ten days on the steamer, and wished 
they could wait till balloons, or a tunnel, were invented for crossing 
the Atlantic. 

Master Tommy rejoiced in the general excitement, and that some- 
thing was going to happen. Mary told him he would have to learn 
French, or he might starve if he got left by himself anywhere by acci- 
dent ; he therefore applied himself to acquiring the French names for 
things to eat, but his slight lisp, and heedless ear, prevented any 'very 
rapid progress in the language. 

It was feared that Miss Augusta Lejeune might not altogether like 
the change of plan ; but she did. 

" To tell the truth, Jean, it is a great relief," she said to her friend, 
as soon as they had a chance to talk it over. 

'•After the first glow of assenting to go with Mary, I have beeii 
torn with anxiety ! " 

" You worry ! " exclaimed Mrs. Horner, " what nonsense ; as if 
single women ever had any real worry." 

"I mean on account of the responsibility," continued Miss Lejeune, 
'' if Mary had been homesick, or ill, or anything. Now, you can take 



WHAT CAME ABOUT. 48 

care of her, auu uesiaeo she will not be ; and if any admirers make up 
to her, you can take care of them." 

Mrs. Horner laughed : " No, I think I shall leave that department 
to you. You will know best how to handle them." 

" Ah, my dear," replied Augusta, " that is what I want to say now. 
As you are all going, I think I may as well stay at home. I was the 
what-do-you-call-it, round which we built the arch, but now it is done, 
you may as well take me out." 

She said this lightly and pleasantly, but before her sentence was half 
through, Mrs. Horner began to interrupt her, hastening to say : 

"• What nonsense, Augusta, we were afraid you might begin to talk 
like that ; but we shall not hear of it. Philip says he should not 
think of going without you, and I'm sure I shouldn't. We have neither 
of us been abroad, and we depend upon you entirely, and as for the 
children — " 

More was said of this sort, and it may be that Miss Lejeune only felt 
the need of being urged a little ; for she soon gave in, only ending 
the subject by saying as she laughed, "Very well, then, I go in the 
capacity of female courier to the party." 

After this all was bustle and joy for the children, and bustle and 
misery for the parents. The servants all gave warning at once, though 
the greatest pains had been taken to shut the door whenever the sub- 
ject was to be discussed ; but Tommy admitted telling his nurse that 
he was going to Africa, he believed, one Saturday night when she was 
emptying his pockets. 

The house, which was advertised to be let, was overrun by applicants 
coming to look at it, whose only real object seemed to be finding out 
what was kept in the closets. When it was let, which luckily happened 
at once, it had to be put all in apple-pie order, and every housekeeper 
knows what that means. Mrs. Horner was quite worn out. 

But the worst of all was the advice of friends, which had indeed 
begun very early in the matter, and the quantity of comforts for the 
voyage which poured in upon this travelling family. Mary received 
four brush-bags, three shoe-bags, seven catch-alls, and nine omnium- 
^atherums, all to be nailed on the walls of her state-room. The other 



44 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



members of the family got almost as man\', and while they were trN'ing 
to persuade themselves that they would all be useful, Miss Lejeuiie 
roundly ordered that every one must be left at home, as superfluous 

on the voyage, and a perfect 
nuisance after you got any- 
where. 

Some of the things people 
gave them however were good. 
An india-rubber bottle with 
a screw-top, to hold hot water 
for the feet, Miss Augusta 
said one day might go, " al- 
though," she added '' I never 
need any of these things, but 
you may some of 3^ou be sick."' 
Mr. Horner left the room, 
as he always did when the 
voyage was mentioned. The 
others laughed, and Mary said, 
" poor papa ! I feel as if I were 
dragging him to the stake." 

••' Never you mind," cried 
Miss Lejeune, " he will like 
the stake well enough when he gets to it; I dare say it will be 
still harder to bring him home again ! " 

The fact is that for the Atlantic voyage, which after all is but 
ft matter of ten or eleven days, it is unwise to encumber the small state- 
rooms with superfluous things. Take of course everything you 
want, but why accompany your toilet on these days with machinery 
which stands untouched on your dressing-table, j^ear in and. jea,T 
out ? If a sea-passenger is sick, the very sight of these decorations 
of the cabin is odious to him, and it is a burden to have to move 
them about when they are in the way. as they always are, of his totter- 
ing steps. If by good luck he is well and jolly, the last thing he desires 
is to stay one minute langer ^han necessarv in his close and stufifv 




POCK MAMMA. 



WHAT CAME ABOUT. 45 

state-room. The deck is the goal he longs for in the morning when he 
hears the water splashing and slopping about over his head, as the 
sailors are scrubbing it down. A brief, though thorough toilette, is all 
he can stay for, in his haste to reach ^the bracing breeze above, for a 
brisk walk of several turns up and down before breakfast. 

Thus discoursed Miss Augusta Lejeune, the wary old voyager ; but 
she allowed the excellence of a few things, sea-chairs on the deck, lots 
of wraps and rugs, a good novel or two, and above all a bottle of 
smelling salts, the kind called " Preston " being her favorite. 

" My dear," she said to any " dear " in general who might chance to 
be on hand, " you can have no conception of the immense number of 
bad smells that keep coming. There are periods when every smell 
seems to be a bad one, and then, if you can just put your salts to 
your nose for a moment you tide over the sensation, and very likely 
you are all /ight again." 

Mr. Horner was so much impressed with this that he ordered a 
gross of smelling-salts of the kind she described, and thus each member 
of the family was supplied. Miss Augusta herself had an imposing 
bottle with a gold top, which some one had given her for her first 
voyage ; but she declared that the common ones were much better, as 
indeed they were. 

A flower-pot, containing a tall and branching plant, a sure preventive 
of sea-sickness, the gift of an anxious admirer of Mrs. Horner, was left 
at home. A miniature edition of Shakespeare in thirty -seven volumes, 
was left out of the state-room valise, and it is feared never crossed the 
water. Bessie petitioned hard for her favorite game of Authors, 
consisting of fifty cards, and Miss Lejeune reluctantly yielded this 

point. 

" But you will hate them," she groaned, *' when the ship is rolling 
some day, and every one of the fifty cards comes sliding down from 
the shelf into a different place under the sofa." And this prediction 
was verified, on the third day out. 

On the whole, the packing and preparations went on very well. As 
soon as the decision was made for a general departure, an early time 
was fixed for sailing. Luckily the French steamers were running not 



A FAMILY FI.I(;HT. 



very full at that time and excellent state-Tooms were secured for all the 
party in the >S'^ Laiireiit, sailing October first. 

It was not M'ithnnt much discussion, and inspection of different lines, 
that Mr. Horner made the difficult decision in favor of this one. Where 




AJf EXCURSION STEAMER. 



^11 are so good, chance is perhaps the best guide in selecting. Miss 
Lejeune sighed as she thought of her beloved White Stars, but her 



WHAT CAME ABOUT. 47 

familiarity with the Frencli steamers, in one of which she " had crossed '* 
before, consoled her. 

One of the steamers was at the wharf at the time they were makino- 
up tlieir minds, and Jack and Tommy went with their father to inspect 
it, and see what kind of accommodations there were for the passen- 
gers. It was a beautifnl day, the harbor was full of ferry-boats and 
excursion steamers, the sea rough, but sparkling and bright, tempting 
them to cross the Atlantic at once. The boys gazed with awe at the 
immense size of the hull, and with wonder at the extreme smallness of 
the cabins ; the two were to share one state-room, and they were a good 
deal impressed with the limited space to put all their things. Jack, who 
had a reflective turn, went home, and considerably reduced tlie pile 
of indispensables he had set aside to be packed for him. Tommj^, 
who never reflected at all, described joyfully the ladder by which he 
was to ascend to his upper berth. 

The day came. It was fine. The tide served to sail at noon, so they 
had all the morning before them. Mr. and Mrs. Horner, the girls and 
Tommy, were packed into the carriage, while Jack mounted with the 
driver. This was because Mrs. Horner, turning nervous at the last, 
could not bear to be separated from her family. For the same rea- 
son, the luggage, twelve large trunks, and the three portmanteaus for 
the voyage, followed close on behind in an express wagon. Miss Lejeune 
was to meet them at the boat (a horrible arrangement, Mrs. Horner 
thought), but it could not well be otherwise, as she was receiving a 
parting breakfast from a few of her intimate friends. However she was 
sure to be there in time. 

So they drove off, the neighbors looking out of windows, for it 
was quite a procession, the servants waving aprons and smiling, the 
cook shedding a few natural tears. Ann, the nice woman who had 
been with them for years, came out to the carriage with an armful of 
wraps, tucked the mamma into her place, poked handbags under the 
seats, scolded the girls a little, gave a final tug to Tommy's copt- and 
shut the door with a bang. The impatient horses departed at the 
sound. 

Thev started of\ down the street, the family looked back wavinc and 



«l 



MILY Fl.lGllT. 



nodding. Ann seemed to be making frantic signs to the driver. Some- 
thing must be forgotten. With infinite pains he was induced to stop : 
she screamed out to him : 

" Be sure you don't miss the boat." 

That was all. 

And he did not. 




NEIGHBOR AT WIKDUW. 



THE VOYAGE. 4S 



CHAPTER V. 

THE VOYAGE. 

THEY were off. The pier looked in the distance like the 
smallest speck, and waving handkerchiefs were indiscriminate 
among masts and smoke. Even the fondest love could descry no 
further sign of the vanishing friends, and the passengers now turned 
to see what could be made of their present surroundijigs for conso- 
lation or amusement. 

There is a sad element in the departure of a steamer, even when 
you are accompanied by all your household gods. Mrs. Horner sat 
with her handkerchief near her eyes. The girls stood quietly by her 
side. Tommy and Jack were with their father at the stern of the 
ship, the former leaning over the side to watch the churning of the 
screw upon the foamy water. 

Miss Lejeune was already scanning the deck, to find out, if possible, 
the nature of their fellow passengers, and the chance of agreeable 
companions, but not much was to be learned as yet, for only a few 
were scattered about upon the seats. Almost every one was below, 
"shaking down" into the cabins; and, to create a diversion, she pro- 
posed that they should follow this example. Hand-bags, shawl-straps, 
bouquets, were now assembled, and an inspection was made of the 
premises. Nothing could be more convenient than the arrangement 
of their state-rooms, the girls close to their mother, the boys not far 
off, Miss Lejeune near at hand. 

On the French steamers, the salle a manger stretches across the stern 
of the ship, with windows all round, just under the upper deck. This 
brings all the state-rooms down below, opening on long narrow passages 
running the whole lengtii of the vessel. There are no deck state- 



fO 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



-ooms, but those below are large and comfortable, each with a sofa 
which may be a third berth. 

Mrs. Horner privately thought them very small, and could not 
imagine why the term "large" had been used in tlieir description. 
She wondered how she could ever get through ten days in that '' mite 
of a place," but decided she should pass most of the time on deck. 
Alas ! that day was not over before she was glad to come back to 

her cabin, and it was some da3's before 
she made a regular appearance in the 
dining-room. 

But it is not worth while to dwell 
on the early sufferings of the Horner 
family during the 
voyage. Suffice it 
^ to say that after 

three days they 
were all acclima- 
ted, and ready to 
enjoy the delight- 
ful life on the 
ocean wa"^es. Mise 
Augusta is nevei 
sick ; her example, 
and the salt watei 
plunge bath which 
it is always possi- 
ble to have on the 
French steamers, 
kept the two girls 
well up to the 
mark. Marjs the 
delicate, was the 
one who minded least the motion. Bessie — but we are to say noth- 
ing of that. As for Mr. Horner, it was wonderful how he enjoyed it. 
All his dread of the mighty Atlantic vanished. He was the first on 




STERN OF STEAM-SHIP. 



fiii//ii'Miii|iir'iimiiii['!:!iii!iiiiiiiii«ff^^ 



i|i{{|iiiii{ 




THE VOYAGE. 53 

deck in the morning, the gayest of the party at breakfast, and al- 
ways all day in the best of spirits. Freedom from routine and the 
cares of business was, most unexpectedly, so great a relief to his 
mind, that his wife began to think the great merit of the trip was 
going to be this renewal of his youth and spirits. 

One morning, about four days out, our party assembled for the first 
'-.ime in a bevy on deck, in the place where it afterwards became their 
custom to establish themselves. It was the first appearance of Mrs. 
Horner. She was carefully installed in her sea-chair, and tucked in 
with wraps. Now was the time to put to use all the travelling appli- 
ances given her by anxious friends. The india-rubber hot water bottle 
vas at her feet; a patent air-cushion at her back, a knit head-rest 
behind her, a crochet affghan on her knees, an embroidered shawl upon 
her shoulders ; a marvellous sea-hood protected her ears, an uncut 
French novel was on her lap, and the celebrated Preston salts in 

her hand. 

"Now, mamma," said Mary, "you look like the typical traveller, 
"and we shall leave yoc lor our usual exercise on deck." 

Mary already had a sofi color in her cheeks and looked gay and 
anir-.^.ted. Bessie was waiting for her below, outside the saloon 
windcr\ and the ti^o started off, to make the whole length of the 
deck to the bows-, no slight excursion, and excellent exercise whei' 
repeated half-a-dozen times or more. 

" That old lady has come out of her state-room, and is sitting in 
there," said Bessie. " I was going in to write some more on my letter, 
but she looks so pale and miserable, I guess I will leave her alone." 

"Oh yes, come along and walk," said Mary. "You will have 
plenty of time for your letter." 

Mr. Horner settled himself near his wife and Miss Lejeune, who 
was sitting upright without any wraps or veils, closely buttoned into 
a thick tightly fitting jacket, with her book at her side and her 
knitting in her hand. A strip of plain knitting, about four inches 
wide was the inevitable companion of Miss Lejeune. Yards upon 
yards fell from her rapid needles. No one knew what became of the 
stripes. She always said they were for an affghan, but the affghan 



54 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



was never seen. She now began, in a low voice, to point out some 
of their fellow passengers, and to describe them, as far as she could, 




at present. Tommy came and sat down at his mother's feet, and 
Phil lingered about to join in the talk. 

"Those people are Germans," said Miss Augusta; "odd they should 



THE VOYAGE. 



55 



be on a French steamer. I think they are Jews. See the diamonds! 
rhat fat one is the mother of the little ones, I think — their nose? 
are so exactly alike, all of them — but I guess the daughters ar« 
by another marriage, for they don't treat the mother very well.* 




ME. LEVI 



56 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

He is named Mr. Levi. 



I heard 



" There's the father," said Jack, 
the steward call him so." 

The captain was walking up and down upon the bridge, a stout 
man, with a gold band round his cap. 

" He is real cross," said Tommy. " I fell against his legs once, 
and asked his pardon, and he did not say it was no consequence." 
" Did you try him in French, Tom ? " asked his mother. 
" See," said Jack, " I think that is a very nice family sitting over 
on the other side. They are near us at table, and they seem ver}- 
jolly, now they are over being sick." 

It was all very bright and pleasant on deck. The sun was shining, 
a soft wind was blowing, but it was not too cold with wraps. The 
gentle thumping of the screw came in like an undertone suggesting 
steady progress, with the wash of the water along the sides of the 
ship. The sea was covered with bobbing little waves, and all around, 
in every direction, nothing was to be seen but the great round world 
of water, and the bright glowing sky shutting down over it. Sails 

in the distance, and 
as yet birds occasion- 
ally, were the only 
objects to be seen, 
except the plunging 
porpoises that some- 
times followed their 
course, humping their 
curved backs out of 
the water, like a 
school of submarine 
boys turning somer- 
saults. 

On the deck of the 
St Laurent all was tranquil. Little groups of passengers chatted 
together, enjoying the scene, counting the bells, which strike every 
half-hour, and either dreading or longing the approach of luncheon 
time. 




MARY'S FIRST SKETCH. 



THE VOYAGE. 



57 



Mary even attempted, in her sketch-book, a few studies of attitudes 
in charcoal, without much success. 

" That reminds me,*' said Miss Lejeune, " that I have made an 
acquaintance at dinner, and I want to show him to you. We have 
had our end of the table quite to ourselves once or twice, and had 
a good deal of talk. He is Mr. Hervey ; don't you remember the 
Herveys we met at Mount Desert once? They are Boston people, 




I seem to remember, and I should think so by his accent ; in fact I 
believe they have the very best Boston grandmothers. Anyhow he is 
agreeable, and is apparently alone, but perhaps all his party are below." 
Pretty soon Mr. Hervey came along, and was introduced all round. 
He proved to be the very man with whom Mr. Horner had smoked 



58 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



the first cigar he ventured upon. They were soon laughing and 
talking of the miseries and comforts of the voyage, and before it was 
clearly understood how things got so far, Tommy was perched upon 
the new gentleman's knee. For Tommy, though he was getting a 
big boy, retained some of the habits of a baby. 

Mr. Hervey proved a valuable addition to their party. He was 
alone, and confessed he liked travelling alone, and picking up 
his companions as he went along. Mr. Horner liked him. They 
shared those mysterious rites of smoking and shaving and discussing 
stocks which occupy men when they are left to themselves. Mrs. 
Horner liked him because he was nice with the children, and for 




•J: / // // / ' ill m ,; II I, i |,illllllli H II 1 HiW.Wl i \ 
BBITNO'S ESCAPE. 



^^>^'' 



the same reason he was liked by the children themselves. Mary, 
the reserved and dreamy, and the easy-going Bessie, alike took him 
into favor. Philip thought he M^as "splendid," and Tommy must 



THE VOYAGE. 59 

have bored him dreadfully, for there was no moment when he was 
not close at liis heels. But he never betrayed any such feeling, 
though he had a skilful way of disengaging himself when he chose, 
by attracting the boy's attention to something far off on the ship. 
Very early in their acquaintance, he introduced the young people 
to the live-stock in the forward part of the steamer. There were 
cocks and hens, turkeys, lambs, and an immense great dog not allowed 
to move about, but shut up in the charge of the butcher. It is quite 
surprising how often he reminded Tom of these animals, and fostered 
the interest which Tom readily got in their welfare. Perhaps the 
butcher did not enjoy it as well as the others did at their end of 
the ship. There was some little stir one day when our young friend 
let the dog loose, in the interests of humanity, and as a member of 
the S. P. C. A., so that he rushed up on deck and came suddenly 
in contact with the legs of a second class passenger, who was taking 
iiis first walk after sickness, and rather unsteady. It cook several 
sailors, and a good many minutes, to secure Master Bruno, and put 
him back in his place. Tom prudently retreated from the scene, and 
never was actually known, though suspected, to be the author of 
the mischief. 

It is well to be able to record that none of the party were very 
seriously affected by sea-sickness, and that after some days every 
one was in good condition to enjoy the fine weather and the excellent 
table of the St, Laurent. They readily fell in with the Freaoh 
gystem which is in use on the steamers of this line. 



go A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE BELLS. 

EVERY morning Michel, the steward, brought a cup of coffee 
and a crooked Vienna roll to the berth of each of the ladies. 
Michel was a vivacious, lean little Frenchman, clad in dark blue, 
with alert and softly gliding steps, who fulfilled the duties of a 
chambermaid ver}^ adroitly, making the beds, tucking in and turning 
down the blankets, with more than the skill of a woman. 

In France, the Horners got used to seeing this, but at first this 
man-maid was an anomaly. Michel was very obliging, and it was 
cheering to have him come in every morning, with h.\s, plateau and "bon 

]our ! 

A good comfortable breakfast at nine or later, and dinner at four, 
were the meals of the day. There was lunch at some time be- 
tween, but the Horners, except Tommy, seldom went down to it, 
preferring to pass the long day on deck, and here after dinner they 
again assembled, having the coffee brought to them then. And this 
was the pleasantest part of the whole, comfortably digesting a good 
dinner, reposing on well arranged chairs and pillows, with plenty 
of wi-aps, to see the day pale and the stars come out, chatting gayly 
or quietly on all possible subjects. Every one was surprised to find 
how agreeable every one else was ; there was plenty of time to talk 
and think, and discuss, which is seldom the case in our busy American 
life. 

At four bells in the evening the little party broke up, for only 
Tommy was sent off earlier. Mrs. Horner and the girls went to 
bed at once and slept like tops. Mr. Horner smoked a final cigar, 
at this time, while Miss Lejeune and Mr. Hervey had a way of stopping 



THE BELLS. 61 

in the dining-room for a Welsh rare bit and a bottle of Apollinaris 
which they both declared was the very best thing to go to bed 
upon. 

The business of the bells and dog-watches was a fruitful subject for 
talk. The boys understood it at once, the girls got at it after many 
explanations ; Mrs. Horner did not pretend to understand it, and Miss 
Augusta asserted that it was useless to try, because " they " changed it 
so often, a statement Mr. Hervey pronounced unfair, seeing the system 
was invented by Columbus, and had been used ever since his first voy- 
age without the slightest change. 

Tommy was a little puzzled by this, but Philip and Bessie told him 
afterwards that once for all, . he had better believe nothing that either 
aunt Gus or Mr. Hervey said when they were '' chaffing." 

" You can believe papa always," said Philip, " and mamma too, only 
she does not know much." 

" And Mr. Hervey," added Bessie, " when he is alone ; it is only 
aunt Gus that makes him tell lies." 

The real fact about the bells is that they are planned for the benefit 
of the sailors, and not for the passengers. The intention is to divide 
the day of twenty-four hours, into six watches, of four hours aach. 
The bells strike every half-hour, first one, then two, till they reach 
EIGHT, which of course takes four hours, and then they begin again. 
At noon, when eight bells strike, is the time they are most generally 
noticed by passengers ; at half-past twelve, the light stroke is little per- 
ceived. Two bells at one o'clock, suggests to many a biscuit, a tumbler 
of iced champagne and a nap, and so on thi'ough the day, each set of 
bells has an association that long after the voyage is over, comes back 
with the familiar sound. There are two places, one near each end 
of the ship, where the bells are struck, so that one set is heard first, 
then the other, remote and faint like an echo. 

So much seems easy to understand, but now comes the dreadful 
subject of the " dog-watch." The watch means six different sets of 
sailors who are on duty by turns, for four hours at a time. It would 
not be fair to have the same set always on duty at night, which is the 
most disagreeable time, and so they change the order by making 



g2 A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

two half-watches instead of one long one, between four and eight 
p. M., thus : 

Eight o'clock, P. M. is eight bells. 
Midnight, twelve o'clock is eight bells. 
Four o'clock, A. m. is eight bells. 
Eight o clock, A. M. is eight bells. 
Noon, twelve o'clock is eight bells. 
Four o'clock, P. m. is eight bells again. 

But the sixth watch only lasts two hours, from four to six P. M., and 
the seventh, also two hours, from six to eight; so as there are only 
iix sets of men the time of watching is uneven, and never the 

same. 

The daily variations of time caused much talk among the children, 
and indeed the older ones were sometimes puzzled in trying to explain 
these subjects clearly. Bessie had a little watch which had been given 
her as a parting present, and as it was her first, she took much pleasure 
in winding it up and consulting it. She did not like to "jog it ahead " 
as Jack urged her, half an hour every day, and so it grew more and 
more behindhand, until it was really easiest to tell time by the bells 
and verify it by the watch. 

" The fact is," she said, " we are cheated out of half an hour every 
day. To-day we breakfast at nine o'clock and dine at four. Day aftei 
to-morrow we shall seem to be doing the same thing, but in reality we 
breakfast and dine a whole hour sooner. So the day we start we break- 
fast at nine and dine at four, but the day we get there those hours will 
be four o'clock in the morning for breakfast, and eleven o'clock foi 

dinner." 

" You will have the hours made up for you going home," suggested 
Miss Lejeune, "then you have to wait half an hour to catch up 
with the bells and it seems very long." 

"Don't speak of going home !" exclaimed Mary gayly. "I wish 
we were going all round the world in this very steamer." 

Her mother groaned gently. Although her ill feelings were over 
she was not fully reconciled to the motion of the ship ; but it was 
a great pleasure to see Mary so soon recovering her good spirits. 



THE BELLS. 



63 



The seat at table next to Bessie was always vacant through the 
first week of the voyage, but ou Sunday, after all were seated, there 
was quite a little stir in the dining-room as a majestic old lady sailed 
»i, followed by her maid carrying a cushion and wraps. This was 
the old lady she had noticed before, Mrs. Chevenix, making her 
nineteenth trip across the Atlantic. She was gorgeously arrayed 
in a lace cap with scarlet poppies nodding at one side, and a cashmere 
shawl was drawn over her shoulders. A delicate girlish color, sug- 
gestive of rouge, mantled her cheeks, and the light puffed curls on 
her brow were marvellously black. She was led to the vacant seat 
by Bessie, and the young Homers gazed at her with awe and 
amazement. The captain, who spoke but little in general to the 
others, saluted her with great deference, and she at once began a 
lively French cojiversation with him across the table. 

" You can leave me, now, Mary," she said to the maid, who had 
been adjusting the cushion to her back, and a foot- warmer at her 
feet. "I shall do excellently now. I mean to make an excellent 
dinner. Everything is sure to be au meilleur on a French ship, and 
gargon, tell them to send me a bottle of vin extraordinaire:' 

She looked about graciously upon her companions, and even put 
up her glasses to scan them more closely, whereupon; 

« You have forgotten me, I fear, Mrs. Chevenix ; I am Mr. Hervey 
Mr,. Clarence Hervey, of Boston,'' 8aid that gentleman. 

'^ Ah \ my dear sir, not at all ; delighted ! " replied the old lady. 
" I should have recognized you at once, but I am so myope^ you know ; 
absolutely nothing without my glasses." 

Mr. Hervey now Introduced the Homers, and a great deal of amusing 
talk followed ; for Mrs. Chevenix was still a delightful woman of the 
world, very agreeable, in spite of her affectations. She told a number 
of her adventures on previous voyages with great spirit ; but alas ! 
before the salad was removed, an unfortunate lurch of the ship was 
too much for her; she turned pale under her rouge, and moved back 
hastily, calling : 

" Mary '. I must have Mary ! " 

Marv Horner, who was remarkably quick and observant, sprang 



34 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



forward at once, and half-supporting the old iady with one arm 
around her, led her quickly to the door of the salle a manger, where 
the faithful maid, who was not far off, received her, and bore her away 
to her state-room. 

After this Mary Horner became a great favorite with Mrs. Chevenix, 
who soon recovered from this last little attack of sea-sickness, and 
f.ook her place regularly at meals, entertaining the whole party hy her 
vivacity and shrewd remarks. 

Otherwise, they made few intimacies, but man}- acquaintances on 
the ship. There was a shy and awkward young man named Buffers, 
who hovered about the girls a good deal, and finally gained courage 
to join them in their walks up and down the deck. He had a small 
moustache, which he fostered much, and a cane with which he was 
not yet very familiar ; but when they came to know him, Bessie did 
not laugh at him very much, and Mary pronounced him to be a 

nice boy. 

'There was a pretty wom- 
an travelling alone, Mrs. 
Freeman, who received a 
great many attentions from 
all the gentlemen on board, 
until one of them grew so 
devoted as to drive away all 
other aspirants. She was 
said to be a 
widow, and he 
was said to be a 
rich bachelor. It 
was hoped by all 
observers that it 
would be a 
match, and the 

assiduities of the gentleman, and the coyness of the lad)'', were 
much watched and criticised. 

Tommv found several boon companions of his own age, who bad** 




MKS. FEEEMAN. 



I'HE BELLS. 



65 



fair to make existence miserable by tearing up and down the stairway, 
climbing- booms, and endangering their lives by hanging over the rail ; 
but the discipline of the ship was strict, and eiders were in the 
majority, so that the nuisance of a horde of ill-disciplined children let 
loose upon a steamer, was happily escaped. Strange to say there was 
no boy of Philip's age, which kept him mnch with his sisters, and in 
the society of his father's friends. 

Thus the voyage drew quietly towards its end ; an exceptional 
passage, every one said, in regard to weather, for they had no storm, 
and onl}' a few days of drizzling rain. That it had been remarkably 
pleasant, even Mrs. Horner was willing to allow. 

On their approach to France, the question came under discussion, 
whether the}^ should land at Brest, or go on to Havre. As Miss 
Lejeune had anticipated, it was easily decided for the latter course. 
Not only most of the passengers, but the pleasantest ones were to 
keep on to Havre, and it seemed a pity to break up their agreeable 
party till the last moment. As it happened, the stop at Brest was 
made in the middle of the night, a few travelling agents were put on 
shore in a boat, and the rest saw nothing of the place, but the next 
da}^ steamed along the channel with a fresh breeze, and some distant 
glimpses of the rocky coast of northwestern France. 




66 



A FAMILY FMGHT 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE ARRIVAL. 

IT was low tide when the St. Laurent came to anchor, aiul it 
was necessary to land by means of a tug which came alongside 
of the steamer for that purpose. Being Americans, all the passengers 
were in a hurry to get off, and each one wished to be the first to 
leave the ship; they crowded about the gangway long before it 
was time to go. There was a good deal of wind, and the harbor 
was full of little waves, which kept the tug bobbing up and down, 
60 that now it was high up above the level of ,the steamer, and now 
down below, and it was no easy matter to keep the plank between 
the vessels steady long enough for the passengers, one by one, to 
cross. 

Our party stood a little aside, watching the exodus with some 
gloom. Much as she had longed for the end of the ten days and for 
terra firma, Mrs. Horner wished now she need not leave the dear 
St. Laurent, all her fear of the sea returning which had been 
forgotten during the prosperous voyage. The boys longed to spring 
upon the tug, and were only kept back by moral and physical 
suasion. " No hurry," " there is plenty of time," their mentors 
were obliged to lieep saying ; they were forced to content themselves 
with watching those who went before. 

Among the rest came dear old Mrs. Chevenix, of whom they had 
become very fond at last, she was so good-natured, in spite of her 
little foibles, which they began by laughing at. Mr. Hervey sprang 
forward through the crowd to help her : she was quite stout and 
rather blind, and decidedly timid. With the captain, who himself 
deigned to show her this attention, at one elbow, and Mr. Hervey 



THE AHKIVAL. 



67 




at the other, 

and with her excellent nuiid Mary 

close at hand, she came to the gang-plank. 

" Now, Madam I " said the cap- 
tain ; bnt before bhe could ad- 
vance, down went the tug - ^ 
into a tiousfh of water. 

"Wait one mo- 
ment, Mrs. Cheve- 
nix," said Mr. Her- 
vey, as up flew the 
tug in their faces. 

"Now!" "Not yet!" "Now! now I "" were the directions following 
Close upon each other, till it seemed as if years went by, before the 
p'lucky old lady was deposited in safety on the grimy, smokv little 
boat, which looked like an impudent little puppy, after their big 



THE COAST OF NORMAXDY. 



68 A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

Newfoundland of a steamship. The Homers followed close upon 
Mrs. Chevenix and Mr. Hervey, and the latter, tuniiiig quickly as 
soon as he saw she was safe, succeeded in swinging the ladies across 
from Mr. Horner, who stood on the steamer. They all joined Mrs. 
Chevenix, v/ho was in high spirits at her prowess, and ver}- talkative. 

" Very polite, that captain, and you too, Mr. Hervey ; always 
trust a Frenchman for gallantry to the ladies; but I told him that 
was the worst landing I ever made, and he ought to have it attended 
to. With all the talk about the docks at Havre, it is a pity you 
can not get into the country without being drowned and breaking 
your neck. But that is the French all over, they are all for la 
gloire^ 

Bessie did not see the connection in these remarks, for she had 
not paid enough attention to the old lady to understand her st3-le. 

The tug went puffing and bobbing on its way, and they could 
enjoy the sunset light on the water. A packet, crossing the channel 
from England, swept along, from which the passengers had evidently 
been watching their late struggle. The people at the bow of the 
little steamer all looked fresh and in good order, as if the dreaded 
channel had not kept up its reputation for roughness. 

Land was soon reached, but the trials of the party were not yet 
over. The stone docks are very magnificent, but very steep, especially 
at low tide ; there is a long flight of steps, very damp and slippery 
at first, built into the stone ram"part. It had taken so long to get 
off the steamer, that it was already growiiig dark, and very grewsome 
it was to climb one by one the many steps which led to the top ; 
but at last it was reached. The children, dazed and bewildered 
with the jargon of a new language, and by the sudden change from 
their sea life, could hardly now take note of events. Philip said 
afterwards the only thing he remembered was the queer feeling of 
a real bed, at the hotel where they passed the night. He felt the 
motion of the ship more now than at any thne since the beginning, and, 
in fact, it was two or three days before any of them were wholly 
rid of it. 

No time was to be wasted at Havre. Miss Lejeune and Mr. Hervey 



THE ARRIVAL. 



di 







ON THE PACKET. 



cast longing eyes in the direction of Trouville sur-mer, only about 
half an hour off, and told the girls some amusing tales of that gay 
watering place. As the train which they intended to take did not 



70 



A I^A.MILY FLIGHT. 



leave till afternoon, a part of '.he family strolled about the city, saw 
the statue of St. Pierre, the author of Paul and Virginia, and the 
many modern, not very interesting, buildings of the handsome town. 
Far more amusing Philip fouiid it, to look into shop-windows, and to 
stare at the strong muscular liorses, drawing heavy loads. 

The first foreign town in one's experience seems very foreign, even 






HAVRE FROM A DISTANCE. 

if it is cosmopolitan and modern. The commonest sights and sounds 
of the street are strange and new, and it is these that at first absorb 
the whole attention. Tommy was amazed and awed. He walked 
along silently, holding pretty tight to his father's hand. 

Tommy did not practice his French in Havre but once, when, left 
alone with the gargon^ who was arranging the tray with coffee and 
eggs in their salon in the morning, he said to him rather softly, 
" Parlez-vous Frangais ? " 



THE ARRIVAL. 71 

The waiter did not notice the question at all, he was so busy with 
spoons and cups, and Tommy was glad he did not, especially when the 
man, tapping immediately afterwards at the door of Mrs. Horner's 
room, said with a strong Irish accent: 

" Breakfast is ready, mum. ' 

Everything in the hotel struck them as odd ; the windows and doors 
d deux hattants opened like folding-doors, never shutting very tight, 
but with a tremendous clang, with handles like corkscrews, large and 
clumsy. This waiter was an amazing creature, who climbed countless 
stairs with a tray on his shoulder, containing coffee and cups and long 
beams of bread, and oetifs a la coque^ which was all they were allowed 
for breakfast. They could have ordered beefsteak and even buck- 
wheat cakes ; but this subject had been talked over before, and they 
all agreed v/ith Miss Lejeune's advice, viz : not to carry their national 
habits about with them, but to do, in each country, as its inhabitants 
do. Their life on the French ship had accustomed them somewhat 
to the plan of a light breakfast. They also prepared themselves man- 
fully for going without iced-water without grumbling, till they reached 
again the land of Tudor and refrigerators. 

Mr. Hervey very simply fell into their party for the present. He 
joined them in the morning, went with Mr. Horner to look after the 
luggage at the Douane, and, indeed, was of great service, from his 
knowledge of French and travelling. The French of Mr. Horner, 
like many another paterfaymlias, was that of the classics, rather 
than of daily life. He could recite you pages of Phsedre, and was 
familiar with the Code NapolSon in the original, but to call suddenly 
in French for a bootjack, was beyond him. 

It was not long before they were in the train, flying express from 
Havre to Paris, and, once for all, it 
may be here described how they 
usually shook down into their com- 
partment. Mrs. Horner and Miss 
Lejeune in the seats of honor, the 
gentlemen opposite them, and the 
children appropriating the win- 





1 2 


3 4 


1. Mary. ^ ^^^^^ 6. Mr. Hervey. 

2. Miss Lejune. . 7. Mr. Horner. 

3. Mrs. Homer. 5- Bessie. g j^^^ 


5 6 1 7 8 



72 A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

dows. Of course there were changes from time to time 

in this arrangement. 

It worked very wel^- tho'.gh not previously planned, that their number 
iust ^Ued a railway car'- ige ; and this they owed, among many nice 
things, to the addition f Mr. Hervey. There is, to be sure, some- 
thing to be said on the other side. A large party, filling up one car- 
riage, and always together, is shut out from tliat contact with other 
travellers, which is a sc . "ce of much amusement, and often great 
pleasure, to a smaller one. bul this cannot be helped, and the com- 
pensation is being free from the annoyance of disagreeable intruders. 
On the present occasion, as the train was very full, at a way station 
a French woman was crowded in upon them, in spite of their number. 
She was very voluble, and full of apologies. She had a parrot in a 




ST. OUEN, liOUEN. 



cage in one hand, and she put a basket under the seat, which, she 
afterwards explained, contained kittenso She would have told her 



THE ARRIVAL. 



73 



whole history to Miss Lejeiiiie, who was the only person who could 
understand half what she said, but that another place was found for 
her by and by, in a " third class," where she belonged. 

She left the travellers rather discouraged about their French, but 
Mr. Hervey assured them that she talked a patois that nobody could 
understand. 

With this exception, their whole attention was turned to the 
scenery from the windows, as the train hurried them along through 




a level, somewhat monotonous, but very pretty country, looking "just 
like pictures of France," as Bessie observed. Long rows of poplar 
trees, or willows, and far-stretcliiiig fields with neat little houses on 
them, were all delightfully different from Springfield and Hartford. 
The trim, well-ordered condition of the road-bed, the tidy little stations, 
almost always surrounded by neat, bright patches of flowers, enchanted 
and surprised them ; they amused themselves by trying to pronounce 



r4 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



the funny names of the stations, as they tlew by the white boards on 
which they were painted. The quiet and method, the absence uf 
hurry, so different from the bustle and confusion of travel in America, 
even now began to impress them, and to tell upon the nerves of the 
elders, oiving them a feeling of repose, even while in motion. 

The trip from Havre to Paris is only five hours, direct, and they 
had decided not to stop at Kouen and see the cathedral, while resolv- 
ing to do so later. Many travellers have made this resolution, and 
failed to come back; but it is not possible to turn aside for every 
monument on the road, and Paris is a magnet that draws, with a 
steady pull, those who are set towards it. 




KWUEN FJ;UM llIE KlVKK. 



So they contented themselves with the pretty view of Rouen, from 
the river, as they crossed the Seine. 

It was nearly dark, as they drew near Paris, but not enough so to 
prevent them from seeing everything distinctly, and the sunset liglit 
gilded the windows, and spires, and little bits of water, making them 



THE ARRIVAL. 



<5 



sparkle. There was real excitement, which they need not pretend to 
hide, tor all were in harmony, and they had no wish to appear bored 
or indifferent, as they approached the great capital of the world, 
which has been so often the centre cf human interest. Crossing and 
recrossing the Seine, they caught glimpses of St. Germain, and saw 
and heard the names of places they had been reading about all their 
lives ; before they could take it all in, through tunnels and by bridges, 
and over and under streets they found themselves at a standstill 
in the gare (or station) of the Rue St. Lazare. 




7A A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

DEAR PARIS. 

IT was dark; the station appeared vast, strange, and gloomy Our 
party was hustled, with the rest of the crowd, into an inunense 
dreary bai-n of a place, where they sat upon a hard bench, to wait for 
the inspection of the luggage. The gentlemen hovered about near 
them, at the same time watching their chances of identifying their 
trunks. The first thing had been to secure outside a small omnibus 
which would contain them all. 

All over Europe the system of baggage checks, used in America, 
is unknown. Good Americans wonder why it is not introduced uni- 
versally, and perhaps it will be, one of these days. Meanwhile, at 
every arrival, it is necessary for each passenger to go and pick out 
his own pieces. The boxes are all brought and tossed down upon 
a long sort of counter, pell-mell, as they are in our stations, only a 
big, separate room is devoted to them, with the hard bench running 
round it. Each trunk must be identified, and, what is more, in- 
spected by the Custom House officer, and marked with a white 
cross, in chalk. This inspection does not amount to much, in the 
case of a long train full of trunks, like the present, and ine whole 
affair passes off more quietly and quickly than might be supposed. 
"There is no hurry," is the great lesson which Americans begin to 
learn the moment they go out of their own country. 

Twelve trunks to be found and identified, seemed like looking for 
a whole paper of needles in a hay-stack, in all that mass of big and 
little luggage ; but thanks to the red and yellow bar, and other 
conspicuous signs, Mr. Horner got his things together, crossed off, 
and away, in not much move than hulf au hour, which tliey were 



DEAR PARIS. V 

told was surprising luck. Mr. Hervey, meanwhile, had found his 
own convenient little valise, and they now went to their omnibus, 
which seemed just a pattern for them. While the tired and timid 
Homers sat within, the powerful French porters piled the luggage on 
top of the omnibus, climbing up by a little ladder. As each great trunk 
crashed down upon the slight roof, they started, and it was indeed 
an alarming sight to see such a pile upon so apparently slight a 
foundation. But it appeared to be a mere matter-of-course to the 
porters ; there were, indeed, no Saratogas, and not much sole-leather. 
So they rattled off at a brisk trot, and heard, for the first time, the 
click of horses' feet upon the Paris asphalt, driving through the 
narrow streets to the broad and brilliant boulevard, now all lighted 




BOULEVARD MONTMAKTRB. 

with streams of gas, within and without the shops, and columns 
of electric light. Gaiety, light, movement, are the characteristics of 
Paris. New York, which follows fast in its footsteps, has not reached 
yet the air of joyous living which pervades the French city. 
Even at this hour, people were sitting at the little tables 
before the cafes ordering ices or absinthe. 

On arriving at Havre, Mr. Horner had found a letter telling him 



78 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 




that his rooms were engaged, as he wished, at the Hotel du Rhin, 

Place VendSme. He had then on!}' to tele- 
graph the hour of his arrival, in order to 
be expected at the right time. So now they 
travelled down the brilliant Rue de la Paix, 
and round the column to the opposite cor- 
ner, and under the archway into the odd 
little court of the ancient hotel. 

Here Mr. Hervey left them for the present. 
He was to put up, much against his will, at 
the Grand Hotel, on account of a business ap- 
pointment there. Promising to see them often, 
without any more definite arrangement, he 
drove off alone in their omnibus, leaving 
them to shake down in their new quarters. 

The Stuyvesants, who were the chie^ 
friends in Paris of the Horners, lived iii 
an apartment in the Rue Josephine, which is one of the 
streets of the newer part of Paris, and quite at a distance 
from the Place Vend6me. But urged by their mentor. Miss Lejeune, 
the Horners wisely decided to place themselves in the heart of the 
city, near the shops and theatres, the river and bridges. The hotels 
are old, and without modern conveniences for the most part, but that 
in itself makes them more foreign than the modern apartments, which 
are too much like Islew York houses to be amusing for their novelty. 
The older part of the town is more essentially French, and foreign 
than the other, and therefore "a great deal better fun." So the 
narrow entry and stairway, rather dirty and not very well lighted, 
pleased them more than a splendid modern hotel entrance would 
have done. For that, they should liave gone to the Grand Hotel, 
whose immense courtyards, with wide stairways, elevators, fountains, 
gilding and mirrors, remind an American of a New York hotel, and 
fail to give that impression of novelty and antiquity combined, which 
we ask for in Europe. 

So they found themselves soon in a pleasant salon, wliich formed 



DEAR PAEIS. 



79 



the chief room of their apartment, sitting down to a comfortable little 
dinner brought to them there. Doors opened from this room, on 
either side, into bedrooms for Mr. and Mrs. Horner and their 
daughters. Miss Lejeune appropriated a pleasant bedroom near at 
hajid, although not en suite. The boys, to their great glory, were 
relegated to a room au cinquieme, by themselves. This was the first 
time that Tommy had ever gone so far from the maternal wing to 
roost. Philip good-naturedly consented to look after him, and they 
went off to bed in great state, followed by the anxious eyes of their 
mother, who feared something might happen to them in that strange 
hotel. And thus ended the first whole day of the Homers in a 
foreign country. 

The next morning, when the boys woke up, the first thing that 
met their ears was the click, click, trot, trot, of the horses' feet in the 
Place VendSme, on which their room looked. Suddenly followed a 
burst of music, from a band in the square. They both sprang from their 
beds, and ran to look out. Their window, literally in a French roof, 
was reached by a high step and window-seat, from \\ Inch they could 
conveniently look down, far into the place below, and across to the 
Vend6me columi , just 
before them in the 
middle of the square. 

" My I Is it not just 
like our paper-weight ! " 
cried Tommy. 

The celebrated Ven- 
d6me column has been 
reproduced, in reality, 
almost as often as it 
has in miniature for a 
table ornament. It was 
originally built by the 
first Napoleon, to com- 

4- U;., ,r;^ + ^,.;Qc, VENDOME COLUMN. 

memorate his victories, 

in 1803. It was taken down by the Communists in May, 1871 ; but 




80 A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

as the fragments were preserved, it has since been again erected. 

The statue of Napoleon on top lias gone through similar changes. 
The original one, which he put there himself, made of Russian and 
Austrian cannons, melted up for the purpose, was taken down by 
the Royalists in 1814, and the metal employed to cast an equestrian 
statue of Henr}^ IV. on the Pont Neuf. It was replaced Ijy a monster 
fleur-de-lis, surmounted by a large white flag. In 1831, Louis Philippe 
caused a new statue of the Emperor to be put on the top of the 
column, cast of the metal of guns captured at Algiers. This was 
removed in 1863 to Avenue de Neuilly, and replaced by the present 
one, representing the Emperor in his imperial robes, and supposed 
to be just like the original one. The other statue, in tlie Avenue de 
Neuilly, was thrown into the Seine by the Communists, in 1871. 

Such are the ups and downs of the effigies of the great men of 
France, as well as their own, and the dynasties they represent. M. 
Marechal, the proprietor of the hotel where the Homers were, is said 
to have offered the Communists five hundred thousand francs, if they 
would spare the VendOme column. They said : " Make it a million, 
and we will see." M. Marechal kept his money, and the column 
was destroyed. 

The boys were so absorbed, half-dressed with tlieir heads out of 
window, in watching the lively movement of the street, which 
was full of little carriages and cabs, the sidewalks crowded with people, 
gay uniforms, maids with caps, workmen in their blue blouses, and all 
different from the long lines of busy passengers they were used to 
in Broadway, that they heai'd no knock at the door, when their father 
came to call them, nor his voice, until he crossed the room and put 
a hand upon the shoulder of each. 

" Oh, papa ! is it not splendid fun ! Can we go down there rio-ht 
off?'" cried Tommy. 

"Dress yourselves first, and stop for coffee at No. 27," 
replied his father. " After that you can go out, if Phil will 
take you." 

The boys thought the view from their parlor was less amusing than 
that they had left, for the windows looked upon the street which 



DEAR PAHIS. 81 

leads from the Place Veiideme to the Rue St. Honor^. It is narrow 
and crowded, and not so gay as the wide square. They found 
their family, however, refreshed and animated by the sound sleep of 
the night, and soon Miss Lejeune joined them. The boys were per- 
suaded not to go out till some plan of action had been made for the 
day; and they were glad of this, by and by, when a tap at the door 
announced Mr. Hervey, who came thus early to rejoin the party 
which he had found so attractive hitherto. 

"Forgive me,' lie said, turning to Mr. Horner, "for mentioning 
the word plans, since you and I are agreed on the two essential 
rules of travel; First, never to have any; second, never to mention 
them." 

" You are always saying that," exclaimed Philip, rather impatiently , 
"but I'm sure I do not know what you mean." 

"He means, Phil," said his father gravely, "that it is wise in 
travelling not to allow yourself to be hampered by a phui, made before 
starting, so much as to lose doing a great many things which may 
turn up afterwards." 

"And then," cried Miss Augusta, "after you have decided to do 
a thing, do not go and tell everybody, and thus grow tired of your 
plan before carrying it out." 

"However," continued Mr. Horner, "an able general must reveal 
some plan of battle, I believe, to his troops, before opening the campaign; 
and I must say I should like to consult with my aids and lieutenants 
seriously before we advance further. Mrs. Horner thinks," he went on, 
addressing Mr. Hervey, " that we Kiay as well settle down here for 
a month or more, before going further, and thus do up Paris now. 
This will accustom us to foreign life, and to the sound, at least, of 
French ; and as we mean to leave the real travelling part till summer, 
there is no reason for hurrying away from here now." 

The young people exchanged glances of delight which was mod- 
erated a little as their father went on. 

" Miss ■ Lejeune thinks it might be worth while for the girls, at 
any rate, to take regular French lessons, and perhaps Philip ; at all 
events, we want to have some system in our sight-seeing, and not 



82 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



devour oar Paris like a box of bonbons. Many people go away with 
ver\- little idea of the historical raonumeiits of the city ; and yet, in 
that regard alone, it is one of the most interesting places in the world." 

Ths others agreed. Bradshaw and Murray, maps and plans were 
brought out, and a deliberation seemed about to ensue, wIr-u j\[r. 
Hervey, observing the long faces of the younger ones, said, laughing: 

"Do not you think they might begin with a nibble at the bonbon 
box? Let every one go out and amuse himself as he likes for to-day. 
They can not get lost, if they use their Yankee wits." 

The grateful children added their entreaty, and, with the condition 
only that Tommy should keep with one at least of the elders, and 
with pocket money in moderation, the four youngest members of 
the party sallied forth from the courtyard of their hotel for their 
first expedition in brilliant, bewildering Paris. 




HOTEL DE VILI.E. 



SIGHT-SEEING. 



CHAPTER IX. 



SIGHT-SEEING. 



THE result of these deliberations was, that the " famille Horner " 
were, to settle down for a month, at least, in Paris. They soon 
fell into a certain routine of life which proved very agreeable. Every 
morning, after the usual cup of coffee and delicious bread and butter, 
some out-door excursion to " see sights " was made, either in groups 
or by the whole party , at noon, or later, they lunched at any good 
restaurant which happened to be in their way ; but generally, every 
one came home to rest or study during the afternoon. At six, 
or later, a cosy little dinner was served in their own apartment. 
Two evenings in the week, a French abb^, M. Burin, accomplished, 
instructed, and agreeable, came to talk French, and to direct the 
French exercises of May and Bessie, who found time in the after- 
noons, to write and learn what he gave them to do. He proved 
so pleasant that every one was glad to join these French conversa- 
tions, and he soon came to be considered an important member of the 
family group. His suggestions were most useful as to the direction 
of their search after objects of interest in and about Paris, and he 
sometimes went with them to some favorite point of historic or pict- 
uresque importance. 

The boys were allowed to be free from regular lessons during this 
time. It may be thought that too little attention was given to study ; 
but Mr. and Mrs. Horner considered that the monuments of Paris, 
intelligently considered, were in themselves an education for their 
children, while the language was surrounding them on all sides. 
In fact, they tried to keep themselves as much as possible in a French 
atmosphere ; and, though careful not to neglect their numerous Ameri- 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 




can friends, they 
avoided all din 
ners and invita- 
tions of a simply 
social character. 
They went oft- 
en to the theatre, 
but otherwise 
stayed at home 
in the evenincj: 
the rest and quiet 
were most wel- 
come after their 
active day ; and 
maps and guide- 
books, volumes 
of history and ref- 
erence covered 
the tables of their 
pretty salon, and 
came out every 
nipht for consul- 
tation. 

Mr. Hervey 
had not been 
committed to any 
agreement to stay 
as long as they 
did; no one asked 
him his plans, 
and he said very 
little about them. 
The Horners un- 
derstood that he 
liiid some bust- 



SIGHT-SEEING. 



85 



ness, and many friends, to attend to in Paris. Nevei'theless, he was not 
seldom fonnd in their gay little evening-circle, and often joined or 
led the morning excursion. Boys and girls grew equally fond of 
him ; his presence was felt by all to be an addition, his absence a 
disappointment. 

In the excursions about the streets of Paris, the party seldom went in 
a body. Sometimes Mr. Horner headed one expedition, Mr. Hervey 
another. Miss Lejeune was often missing on these, which she called 




PLAN OF THE TUILLEHIES AND LOUVKE. 



rudimentary trips, being, as she said, too familiar with many things 
to care to repeat; so she spent that time in visiting old friends. 

Mrs. Horner saved her strength by resting at home nearly every 
other day. But Mary and Bessie, Philip and Tommy, were inde- 
fatigable sight-seers, and often slipped off a second time in the afternoon. 
They soon got an insight into the topography of Paris, and could 
find their way easily, even in the narrow and intricate streets, on the 
right bank of the river, wherever they found the most interest. 

Their first excursion of importance was the walk through the 
boulevards, so wisely recommended by their beloved Baedeker's Guide. 
A bird's-eye view of old Paris, which shows the bulwarks as they 



R« 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 




looked before the time of Louis 
XIV., gave them a very guud idea 
of the old limits of the city, aud 
an understanding of how it cam^ 
to be thus hxid out. 

In the year 1670, Louis XIV. 
had these fortifications which then 
surrounded Paris, removed, and 
the moats filled up. In their place 
a line of streets grew up, ever 
since called boulevards, and these 
streets are still as gay and brill- 
iant as the newer ones built to rival 
them. Starting from one end of 
them at the Place de la Bastille, 
and walking to the Madeleine, 
gives a chance to see some of the 
most striking features of Paris. 

The Place de la Bastille itself is 
interesting as the place where stood 
tbe celebrated old prison of which 
the children had already heard 
and read. This building was 
destroyed at the beginning of the 
Revolution of 178S, and no sign 
of its gloom remains in the modern 
column which marks the spot ; but 
it was easy to call up the vision 
of the dismal old dungeon, where 
for more than four centuries prison- 
ers of state were shut up, often for no reason at all but some caDrlce 
ot government The column of July is erected over the remains of 
the so-called July Champions, who took part in, the revolution <»' 
1830, which made Louis Philippe king. It is of iron, one nunaren 
and fifty-four feet high- wit'i a figure on top of Liberty, holding a 



COLONNE DE JUILLET. 



SIGHT-SEEING. 



89 



torch and a broken chain. Near by is the place where Archbishop 
Affr^ was killed, in 1848, which again was the last stronghold of 
the Communists, in 1871. 

Walking through the streets towards the Madeleine, they become 
gayer and gayer, the shops larger, with huge windows filled with 
all sorts of amusing things. The children took up the plan proposed 
in Miss Ticknor's charming booK, Young Americans in Paris, which they 
had all read and liked very much, of trying to see how many of the 
things in the shops they could name in French as they passed by. Bessie 
lingered long before a window full of delicious dolls, dressed to rep- 
resent a wedding. The bride, a fair young blonde doll, was attired 
in a white satin dress with a long train ; she wore a veil with orange 
blossoms. The little bridegroom stood by her side in irreproachable 
costume , the parents, the priest, the bridesmaid and '' assistants," as 
the French say, were all there. 

As they came through the Place du Chateau d'Eau, a flower-market 
was going on. The large square was tilled with rows of tables heaped 
with all sorts of flowers from the country, and although it was lata 
in the season, the va- 
riety of bright and 
gay flowers was great. 
They passed the 
Grand Opera House, 
and the Grand Ho- 
tel, and came on 
through the brilliant 
boulevard des Capu- 
cines to the Made- 
leine. 

The three older children, Mary, Bessie and Philip, had made this 
trip by <aiemselves ; for with the help of a plan of Paris, they found 
their way about easily, and they grew to enjoy more and more these 
excursions of discovery. Things they found out tliemselves seemed 
far more important than those which were pointed out to them by 
experienced elders-, and some historical fact, told by a chance ol^ 




THE OPEBA. 



90 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



woman iiz a doorway, became far more real than if they had read 
it in a guide-book. 

They were to meet the elders at a restaurant on the Place de 
la Madeleine at twelve o'clock. For a wonder, no one was very late, 
and they had a merry lunch together. Philip, in the hope of becoming 
a connoisseur in such matters, always studied the bill of fare with 
great attention, and sometimes ordered a dish purely for the singular 
name it had ; as for instance, potage a la gihier de Venfer. He made. 




CHURCH OF THE MADELEINE. 



in this way, some discoveries of dishes that were excellent ; but in 
general the Horners found it wiser to order "un bon bifstek," or 
to confine themselves to the dishes which they knew to be solid 
and good, from their experience on the St. Laurent. They believed 
in good, hearty, nourishing food, and plenty of it; for nothing is so 
fatiguing as sight-seeing on an empty stomach. Mary was especially 
sensitive to these physical cpnditions, as her appetite was still delicate. 
When she began to be nervous and a little irritable, Philip was in 
the habit of saying, " Do be quick, and let Mary have something to 
eatl She is getting cross." People are not enough aware how much 



SIGHT-SEEING. 



91 



amiability of temper depends on a good digestion, caused by regular 
and wholesome food. 

It is an easy and short walk from the Madeleine through the broad 
and straight Rue Royale to the Place de la Concorde. The Horners 
especially wished to see the obelisk of Luxor, which stands in the 




PLACE PE LA CONCORDE. 



middle of that square, to compare it with the one just put up in 
their own Central Park, in New York. 

" How different it looks ! " was Tommy's first exclamation, and 
a true one ; for although the obelisk itself is much like the one in 
New York, the pedestal is different, and the rough corners and the 
crabs which are such an important feature in the mounting of 
ours, are wanting. The difference is, however, more in the surround- 
ings of the two. The French one looks slight and elegant, but 
dwarfed at the same time, in the middle of its square, by 
fountains and statues and high buildings, and appears less at home 



92 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



than the one in Central Park, standing alone and grand in the midst 
of simple and natural scenery, away from the noise and bustle of 
the streets. 

The monoliths themselves are very much alike, and tlie Horner 
children were pleased to recognize the cartouche of their friend, Ramses 
II., which they had learned to know at home. The French obelisk 

was presented to Louis Philippe in 1830, 
by Mohammed Ali, who was then Pasha of 
Egypt ; in the next year a vessel was sent 
to bring it home. The task was so tlifficult 
that the ship did not return with its costly 
freight till 1833, and the obelisk was not 
erected in its present position till 1836. The 
expenses of the whole undertaking amounted 
to two millions of francs, and as the obelisk 
weighs five hundred thousand pounds, it used 
^^^Sii-? -^W to be said in Paris that the stone of which 
it consists, cost four francs per pound. 

While Mr. Horner and the boys, with Bes- 
sie, remained in the Place de la Concordo 
to further recall its historical associations, 
Mary and her mother, summoning one of the 
brisk little fiacres which are always to be 
had at a signal of the hand or parasol, stepped 
into it and were soon rolling lightly over 
the asphalt pavement of the Champs 



Cleopatra's needle at home. 

Elys^es. Miss Lejeune had been standing with them, a little undecided 
what to do ; for an open carriage such as they preferred, only holds 
two comfortably, though there is a little seat at the back of tlie driver's 
box, where a young person like Mary may be precariously wedged in. 
At that juncture Mr. Hervey was seen rapidly crossing the street 
towards them, through the many vehicles, horses and passengers that 
crowd that part of busy Paris. He was looking for the party, knowing 
it was their plan to meet in the Place at that hour. 

'• Ah. here you are ! " he cried. " I was afraid I should miss you. 




SIGHT-SEEING. 95 

I have been waiting more than an hour for my man with whom I 
had an appointment for this morning, but as he has not come yet, 
I determined to cut him." 

" How fortunate we did not miss you," said Mrs. Horner ; " to 
meet by chance in Paris seems like looking for a needle in a hay- 
mow." 

" Cleopatra's needle, mamma, is easier to find than most," remarked 
Bessie, rather pertly. 

The Horners did not snub their parents as much as many American 
children do, but it sometimes happened. 

" We are going to see the Stuyvesants," said Miss Lejeune to Mr. 
Hervey, " will you walk up with me, and join the others there ? " 

He smiled. " With pleasure," he replied, " but either they must 
make a very long call, or we must walk tremendously fast." 

" I'll tell you," said Miss Lejeune. " Jeannie, you shall drive 
round the Arc de I'Etoiie and get out and look at it, if j^ou like, which 
will fill up the time, and we will meet you later at the Stuyvesants." 

So it was agreed ; the driver received the proper directions, and 
fchey separated. 




CHAPTER X. 

A VISIT. 

OUBTLESS the Champs 
Elys^es is the most beauti- 
ful street in the world , it it^ 
very wide, sloping gently 
upward, for a little more 
than a mile, to the Arch of 
Triumph, flanked by hand- 
some buildings and planted 
with elm and lime trees. 
The first part of it is full 
of cafes-chantants, juggler's- 
shows, marionettes, and all 
sorts of gay entertainments, 
which make it more amus- 
ing to walk than to drive. 
Nurses in white caps pushing perambulators, little goat-carriages con- 
taining happy children, girls with button-bouquets, and a con- 
stantly moving mass of passengers fill the broad sidewalks, while 
the street is crowded with gay equipages, high-stepping horses elegantly 
harnessed, handsome liveries and gorgeously dressed women ; for from 
two to six are the fashionable hours for driving to the Bois de Boulogne, 
which is reached b\- this avenue. 

These things so absorbed Mary and her mother that on this occasion 
they hardly saw the palaces and buildings on their way. Dismissing 
their little carriage at the Arch of Triumph, they spent some time 
looking at this graceful and and beautiful monument, called the Arc de 
I'Etoile, because it stands in the centre of a star of avenues which radiate 




A VISIT. 



97 




TKIUMPIIAI, AKCH. 



from it, called boulevards, after the other boulevards, although without 
the same right to the name. 

The first Napoleou meaut to erect lour triumphal arches iu com- 
memoration of his victories. Two, only, have been uumpleted ; tJie one 
in the Place du Carousel, near the Louvre, by himself, and this one, 
later bv Louis Philippe. There is a littie staircase within the side 
of the arch, leading 
to the platform, from 
which there is a beau- 
tiful prospect ; but this 
ascent was postponed 
for the active legs 
and easy motion of 
the boys. Mrs. Horner 
reserved her strength 
for the top of the 
Tower St. Jacques, which gives the best bird's-eye view of Paris, on 
account of its central position. 

The Stuyvesants lived in an apartment directly on the corner of 
Avenue de la Reine Hortense, with a beautiful view looking directly 
down the Champs Elys^es. Their rooms, to be sure, were au cin- 
quieme, but the stairs were easy and the situation charming when 
they reached them, with a little balcony overlooking the street, into which 
they could look down and watch the carriages and people made 
small by the distance, and hear the gay trot, trot, of the horses' hoofs 
on the pavements, and the peculiar cracking of the whips of the 
Parisian coachmen. 

Miss Stuyvesant, the daughter of the house, took Mary out on 
the balcony, where they rather shyly began an acquaintance, while 
the mammas conversed within. The ladies were old school-friends, 
but they had not met for several years, during which time the 
Stuyvesants had been living in Paris, and had become a part of that 
laro-e American colony, which stays on year after year, thinking itself 
on the apex of earthly bliss, but, in fact, having but a dull time of it. 
Paris, in the judgment of people like the Homers, is a delightful 



98 A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

place to visit tor a time, and the best place in the world to study 
art, or pursue any special object of intellectual culture ; but to live 
in without auy such aim, it must be monotonous, at least, for good 
Americans who are better employed at home in helping the progress 
of their young country. 

Miss Stuyvesant was a pale, rather pretty girl, a little older than 
Mary, wonderfully well-dressed, with very little to say, after she had 
asked a great many questions about the voyage, and regretted repeat- 
edly that the Horners were so far down town, a thing she took very 
much to heart. 

Mary was glad when she saw in the distance Miss Lejeune 
and Mr. Hervey, coming briskly along towards the house. The}', 
of course, were the only people she recognized, though Miss 
Stuyvesant could tell the names of a number of ladies rolling along 
in their open carriages, with bright parasols over their heads. Although 
it was now late in October, the day was warm and sunny. 

" Well, that visit is off my mind," said Mrs. Horner with a sigh of 
relief, when they were in the street again, " although we are in for a 
dinner there. I begged Mrs. Stuyvesant to postpone it, however, 
till we are a little more settled." 

" Mamma, I think Mr. Stuyvesant is a great deal nicer than the 
others," said Mary. 

"Yes, that is true," her mother replied; "he is an old friend of 
your father's and he is very fond of him." 

" So vou did not get on very well with Miss Emily ? " asked Mr. 
Hervey. 

" Well, no," said Mary ; " it seems as if I had seen more of Paris 
already than she has, though I have only been here three days." 

" Are you tired ? " he asked of the ladies in general ; " for if not, 
it would be a nice chance to see the Pare Monceau, which is only 
a little way off on this street." 

These grounds, which formerly belonged to the domain of Monceaux, 
were bought by the father of Louis Philippe, in 1778, and laid out 
in a stylo intended to be entirely novel, differing from both French 
and English established notions, so as to surprise and delight tlie 



A VISIT. 



99 



visitor at every step. Thus the park became at that time one 
of the most fashionable resorts of the gay woi-ld; balls, plays, and 
fetes of the most brilliant description were celebrated there. 

The Revolution converted the park into national property ; at 
the Restoration it again fell to the house of Orleans, but eventually 




PAKIS UNDER GROUND. 



came into the possession of the city and is now a public promenade; 
and although not to be compared with the Bois de Boulogne, it has 
the advantage of being within the precincts of the city. The original 
fantastic character of the grounds has been to some extent restored, 
as in the Naumachie, an oval sheet of water bounded by a semi-circular 
Corinthian colonade. 

The party were not too tired to spend a little time looking at the 
rather gaudy, but handsome decorations in the Russian church, which 
happened to be open on that day, and they then returned to their 
quiet dinner in their apartment, easily persuading Mr. Hervey to 
join them. 

They found the others still talking of what they had seen ; fof 



100 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



they had been walking all the afternoon. They crossed tl)e river 
by the Pont de la Concorde, on leaving that Place, and suw the Hotel 
des Invalides, the public buildings along the Seine, the Quai Voltaire 
with its open stalls of old second-hand books, where book-lovers were 
searching for bargains amongst a mass of apparent rubbish, and so 
along the river to the island and Notre Dame. Crossing by two 
bridges they were again back on the upper side ; passed the Hotel 
de Ville, the Tower St. Jacques and the Louvre, with whose facade 
they Vv^ere now very familiar, but whose inside treasures were post- 
poned for the present. This was only a sort of preliminary trip, "to 
get used to the outside of the places," Philip said. They did go, 
however, to see the tomb of Napoleon, under tlie dome of the Jnvalides, 




AT THE BOOK-STALLS. 



and all of them, even Mr. Horner, climbed to the top of the Tower 
St. Jacques. 

"Three hundred and ten steps, mamma!" cried Tommy, "and 
you must go up there." 

" You really must though, mamma," urged Bessie, " for it is lovely 




HOTEL DKS l.NVALIDES. 



KM 



A VISIT. 103 

up there. You can see everything, — the river and the streets, — it is 
just like a map; and off into the distance the sky and tlie sunset 
are splendid." 

At dinner they were all talking, more than listening ; but every one 
laughed when Philip was heard to say : " All the places in Paris seem 
to be scenes of bloodshed, and monuments put up by one man and 
pulled down by another. I could be a guide to Paris now. All you 
have to do at each place is to say: 




PONT NEUP. 



" This was founded by Louis XIV., and destroyed in the Revolution, 
rivers of blood, &c. ; Napoleon I. restored it ; Louis Philippe took 
down everything Napoleon put up. Then Louis Napoleon made an 
entirely new city of it, and put N on everything, and then the 
Communists destroyed all, and there were more rivers of blood." 

" That is not a bad account of it, Philip," said Mr. Horner gravel}', 
"but 3^ou must not get in the habit of thinking lightly of these rivers 
of blood, although you hear so much of them at everj^ turn. When 
M. I'abbe comes this evening, who stayed in Paris all throuo-h tlie 



104 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



siege and insurrection, he will tell you that it was no laughing matter 

to witness those scenes." 

''It is a pity that the French have sucli a passion for destro3dng 

their own monu- 
ments," said 
Mr. H e r V e y . 
" When I re- 
member li o w 
magnificent the 
Tuilleries, the 
Hotel de Ville 
and other build- 
ings were in 
1867, at the time 
of the great Ex- 
position, when 
Louis Napoleon 
was at the height 
of his glory, and 
then see, as we 
do now, the 
workmen still 
busy . restoring 
the ravages of 
the Commun- 
ists, I wonder 
how long it will 
be before all is to 
do over again." 
"The French are now building on firm ft)undations," said Mr. 

Horner. " I have a good deal of f litli in tlieir new republic." 

" But only think," said Mary, who had left the table over which 

the others lingered with nuts and grapes, turning over the le£ves 

of her Baedeker, " how many times the Place de la Concorde has 

changed its name: 




napoleon's tomb. 



A VISIT. 



Place Louis Quinze, 
Place de la Revolu- 
fwn, 

Place Louis Seize, 

Place de la Con- 
eorde.'''' 

"And all the differ- 
ent statues that have 
been up and down in 
the middle of it," said 
Bessie, looking over 
her sister's shoulder. 

" Now that they have 
this good, inoffensive 



10 




TOWKK ST. .lACyLJKS. 



106 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



obelisk there, it may be left unmolested, I hope," said Mrs. Horner. 

"But, mamma, they have had a light there since, in the Communists' 
times, but ' notwithstanding the violence of the conflict, the obelisk 
fortunately escaped injury.' " 

It was late; Mr. Hervey said good-night, and all retired to sleep 

soundly. 




STEAM TRAMWAY. 



VERSAILLES. jq- 



CHAPTER XL 



VERSAILLES. 



\ S the weeks went on, the elder Homers were pleased to find 
l\. that without a system of study too rigid, the children were 
beginning to learn something more definite about the history of the 
country they were in, than they had ever acquired from the books 
they had read. Paris itself is a record of the alternating periods of 
splendor and ruin, of which France has been the scene ; and in the 
blank spaces left by monuments destroyed, as well as in those that 
remain, may be read the changes that have swept over her 

In but little more than two centuries has France, and especially 
Paris, gone through so many reverses, and been the scene of so many 
triumphs and so much suffering. In 1643, Louis XIV. began to reio-n, 
and in 1876 the Republican constitution was finally adjusted, — if any 
importance may be attached to this word. In the meantime the 
English people have quietly, and, with but little bloodshed, dispossessed 
their Stuarts, and estabhshed the House of Hanover upon the throne ; 
and in the meantime, the United States has been born and grown 
up to be a lusty and self-asserting member of the company of nations. 

It was now the last week in October, but the weather continued 
soft and lovely, and the Horners availed themselves of it for excursions 
out of Paris, knowing well that in November such trips would lose 
their charm. One of the pleasantest of these expeditions was the 
day they spent in Versailles, which they reached by the tramway, 
thus getting their first experience of a French steam-horse-car, and 
coming home by the way of St. Germain, and the ordinary railway. 

The children, on arriving, were surprised to find themselves in a 
town to all intents and purposes as closel}^ built as Paris. 



y^ A FAMILY FLJOHT. 

" I thought Versailles was a palace ! " exclaimed Tommy, who, as 
may well be supposed, did not trouble himself with guide-books and 
histories. He lived for the pleasure of tlie moment, and although 
he picked up a great deal of information, it was less from study 
than observation. His quick eye and sharp little mind helped him 
to a great many discoveries passed over by his elders. 

Versailles is indebted for its magnificence to Louis XIV. It was 
called by Voltaire Vahxme des depenses, because its palace and park 
cost the royal treasury a thousand million francs, and t(j keep it up 
required every je&v an immense sura. The palace was the head- 
quarters of his court, and is intimately connected with the history 
of the period. It witnessed the zenith and the decline of the prosperity 
of Louis XIV., as well as the life of his successor, Louis XV. The 
unfortunate Louis XVI. saw the palace sacked by a Parisian mob, 
and since then it has be^n uninhabited. During the revolution it 
narrowly escaped being sold ; Napoleon neglected it, and the Bourbons 
m their restoration merely prevented it from falling to decay. Louis 
Philippe at length restored the building, and converted part of it 
into an historical picture gallery. 

At Versailles on the 18th of Januarj^, 1871, the Prussian monarch, 
with the consent of the German States, was first saluted as Emperor 
of Germany. Since the departure of the German troops, in the 
following March, it has been the French seat of government. 

As this was the first palace they had visited, the Homers felt 
obliged to "do it" pretty thoroughl}', and they therefore went through 
all the rooms which are now open to the public; many of them, 
beino- occupied by the government, are not to be seen. It is no 
small amount of walking which is entailed by this, and by the time 
they had been over all the parquetted floors, and up und down the 
stairways leading from one suite of apartments to another, they were 
all thoroughly tired in spite of the interesting things they had seen; 
among others, the celebrated Salle de Voeil de Boeuf, so called from 
its oval window, and the bedchamber of Louis XIV., with its furniture 
now nearly the same as in his time. Miss Lejeune, who had been 
lately reading the memoirs of St. Simon, gave them an amusing 



VERSAILLES. 



109 




account of the daily habits of the great king. When he got up in 
the morning, ever so many people, valets, chamberlains and physicians 
Were always present. The chief gentleman gave him his dressing- 
gown, everybody came in time to find the king putting on his shoes 
and stockings, which he did himself. " with address and grace." Every 



110 A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

other day they saw him sliave himself, and he had a little short 
wig in which he always appeared, even iu bed. As soon as he was 
dressed he kneeled for pi-ayers at the side of his bed, when all the 
others knelt also, and the captain of the guards came to the balustrade 
during the prayer, after which the king passed into his cabinet. 

As for the picture-gallery, it received very various consideration 
from the different members of the party. The children studied with 
interest the sixty-seven portraits of French monarchs, from old Clevis 
to Napoleon III., and tried to remember how many of them had their 
heads cut off, and how many died in their beds. The pictures of 
artistic merit by celebrated painters were those which most interested 
Miss Lejeune ; Mr. Hervey, who cared but little for modern pictures, 
on account of his affection for the old masters, saw little worth 
looking at. Mr. Horner, everywhere and anywhere, delighted in 
any representation of the deeds of the first Napoleon. He was a " Bona- 
partiste enrage," by which is not meant here an admirer, for he con- 
sidered him an unscrupulous tyrant ; but for a long time he had made a 
specialty of reading all the lives, memoirs, and anecdotes of this 
celebrated man, and he never missed an opportunity of following 
him up. 

Philip liked all the battle pictures, and Tommy enjoyed looking 
at a few of them, but he soon pulled his mother away ; and, when 
the rest finally found themselves too tired to understand what they 
were looking at, they found Mrs. Horner and her younger son 
seated on the terrace behind the palace, looking out upon the charming, 
though stiff and formal gardens of Le N6tre. 

He was the most famous landscape gardener of his time. His chief 
object seems to have been to subject nature to the laws of symmetry, 
and to practice geometry and architecture upon lawns, trees, and ponds. 
But the quaint, solemn, old-fashioned look of the grounds is in har- 
mony with the architecture of the palace, and is a good example 
of the notions of art which prevailed in the time of Louis XIV. 

Our party assembled to rest and chat on one of the benches near 
the tapis vert, — a long lawn below the wide steps leading from the 
palace. It is very pretty, and on this lovely, warm October day 



VERSAILLES. 



Hi 



was full of charm. The leaves were already falling ; dried ones were 

floating about, and dropping on the green grass. 

"What a pretty name,"" said Mary, repeating it; ^^ tapis vert]^'' 
" You would not think 'green carpet' such a very romantic name," 

said Philip, who was lying flat upon it, witli Iiis heels in the air, 

having noted the absence for the moment of every form of policeman. 




ftARDEN LAID OUT BY LE NOTKE. 



" No, that's it," said Mary ; " the French language makes everything 
prett}^ just as all their things are pretty. I think they are a pretty 
people." 

" A very pretty people, I should say they were," rejoined Phil, 
" to take so much pleasure in destroying all their own monuments.' 

Miss Lejeune was very desirous to drive to Marly and St. Germain, 
after the manner so often described by her beloved St. Simon as the 
frequent excursion of Louis XIV. and his court. As Mrs. Horner 



IIS 



A FAMILY FLKHIT. 



was tired, she decided not to attempt this , and after their liearty 
and well-earned Innch at a restaurant outside the palace grounds, she went 
back to Paris by rail with Tommy, while tiie rest joined Miss Augusta. 
They were glad they did so, for the drive having rested, and the lunch 
refreshed them, they were able to see all they cared to of St. Germain, 
its chateau and town, and to st oil in the beautiful forest. It was 




CHATEAir OF ST. GEBMAIN. 



here that James II. of England, exiled from his country, lived for 
twelve years and died, while Louis XIV., who was born here, was 
building and improving Versailles. Louis grew tired of the cost 
and bustle of Versailles, however, and, persuading himself that he 
should liko something quiet and solitary, he hit upon Marly, between 
the two places; and beginning with the idea of having no expense 
whatever, he spent more money upon it than even at Versailles. 



VEKiSAILLES. 



118 




ROBERT DE COTTE, ARCUHKCT OF LOUIS XIV. 

chiefly iu clumsy great machines to bring water to the latter place. 
Building and changing his plans, were the great delight of this funny old 
King Louis XIV.: to put up and pull down, to arrange and then alter, was 

' the chief of bis diet, 

QOd yet this old monarch could never be quiet / 



114 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



The Horners talked and read so much about him, tliat he grew 
to be an intimate friend. His portraits at Versailles and at the 
Louvre made him familiar to them. It is said that he iiivented 
high heels, to make himself look tall and dignified, but he must have 
been really fine-looking ; and, when he was "• got uj) " in his flowing 
wig, velvets, embroideries, and laces, was, doubtless, an imposing figure. 
He was a wonderful man ; for it must not be forgotten that his water- 
works and his carp-basins were not the only things which occupied 
his mind. Great wars, and great victories, too, throughout his reign, 
were due to his determination and energy. The contest with England 
and her allies, which lasted so long, and in which the victory was 
often on the side of France, in spite of the triumphs of jMarlborough 
and Prince Eugene, who fought against Louis, was owing, as much 




STATE EQUIPAGE. 



as to any other cause, to the persistent friendship of Louis to the 
exiled Stuarts. When a battle was taking place near at hand, 
he would get into his immense old-fashioned coach, with lialf a dozen 
ladies, and drive out to see how the fighting was going on. In the 



VERSAILLES. 



J la 



coach, during tliese journeys, there were always all sorts of things to 
eat, such as meat, pastry, and fruit, and the king was always urging 
his companions to eat, although he did not himself. 

The Horners suw some huge coaches at the Little Trianon, which 
is a part of Versailles, and amused themselves with fancying the 
royal party seated in one of them, and having to eat when they 
were not hungry, because the king wished them to. 

Louis employed many architects, one of whom was Robert de Cotte. 
of whom Rigaud, a portrait-painter of the time, made a fine picture 
which gives a good idea of the costume of the time. 

Louis XIV. reigned from 1643 to 1715. 




SOTRK DAME. 



us A FAMILY i LIGHT. 



CHAPTER XII. 

tommy's lark. 

WHILE the others were thus following the fortunes and reviewing 
the character of le grand monarche, Mrs. Horner and Tonimj 
were not without their little adventure. 

In their compartment of the train going back to Paris, who should 
they find but Mr. Stuyvesant, who had been to Versailles, not as 
a pleasure-trip, but on a matter of business. . He was what the children 
called a very jolly man ; very different from his family, they thought, 
He now proposed to Mrs. Horner the plan of stopping at Sevres, 
in order to walk across the pretty park of St. Cloud, and there to 
take a steamboat back to Paris, on the river. Tommy's eyes sparkled ; 
his lunch had restored the natural activity which had been taken 
out of him by the long walk through the galleries at Versailles, and 
he was rather gloomy at the thought of settling down to pass the after- 
noon in the H8tel du Rhin. But Mrs. Horner was really tired ; so she said ; 

" I think, if you don't mind taking Tommy, I will go home alone. 
Mr. Horner has given us such careful directions I am not afraid ; it 
is only to take a cab at the station." 

At this moment the train whizzed up to the Sevres station ; there 
was no time to discuss the matter, and Mr. Stuyvesant and Tommy 
jumped out. Just then, a gentleman was springing into the compart- 
ment they were leaving, who bowed to Mr. Stuyvesant. 

" Ah, Monsieur ! allow me to recommend to you my friend, Mrs. 
Horner, une Americaine who goes quite unattended to Paris." 

The door banged, the train swept off, leaving Mrs. Horner a little 
embarrassed at finding herself alone with a strange Frenchman, whose 
name, even, she had been unable to catch. 



TOMMY'S LARK. 117 

She was a good deal chaffed about this adventure by her family 
afterwards. The gentleman, M. Rohan-Cond^, proved ver}^ polite, 
and, although he did not speak a word of English, succeeded in 
understanding her French, though Philip was in the habit of describing 
it as only rudimentary. He pointed out to her the many objects of 
interest on the route, and, on their arrival in Paris, not only found 
a cab, but insisted on driving with her to the door of the hotel, 
where he left her raising his hat with the most elegant of bows, 
and the most fervent expressions of gratitude for being allowed 
to protect her. 

Mrs. Horner shut herself up in her room for a nap, rejoicing in 
the exceeding quiet of the empty apartment. Just in time for dinner, 
the others arrived, tired, but in the best of spirits, Mr. Hervey with 
them ; but where was Tommy ? Dinner was served, and yet he did 
not come. Mrs. Horner now reproached herself seriously for losing sight 
of him. The gentlemen urged her not to worry, and constantly 
repeated their assurance that all was right ; but a little feeling of 
doubt hung over the party, till between eight and nine, when the 
door flew open with a bang, and Master Tommy appeared alone, in 
a state of noisy triumph after his expedition. 

"Well!" cried the girls; "where did you come from?" 

" Where is Mr. Stuy vesant ? " asked the father of the family. 

" He just left me at the door," replied Tommy ; adding with an 
air of great consequence, " we have been dining at Vefour's." 

Everyone shouted. V^four's is a luxurious restaurant in the Palais 
Royal. 

Mrs. Horner wanted to embrace her prodigal little son, but he 
broke from her, so full was he of his adventures. 

" And it is splendid in the evening, all sparkling and glittering with 
shops, and diamonds, and jewelry. See what Mr. Stuyvesant bought 
me." 

It was a ridiculous little cane, with a gilt top, like those carried 
by gentlemen, but adapted to Tommy's size. 

" You are not hungry then, I suppose ? " asked the still anxious 
mamma. 



118 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



"No, but I do not mind a few more nuts," replied Tommy, trans- 
ferring a handful of almonds to his pocket. 

" You see," he explained, " we did not stop at Sevres, but walked 
right along through the Park of St. Cloud tu tlie top of a place 
where there is a splendid view. Mr. Stuyvesant bought us some 
gaufres , they are a superior kind of waffle. You can see Paris, and 
the Arch of Triumph, and the Invalides, and the river, all covered 
with boats and business. It was hot there, in the suu. You ought 




AT ST. CLOUD. 



to have seen a man who wanted to sit down on a bench that had 
just been painted. 

" I was afraid we should have to go all over another palace, for 
my legs ached still, from Versailles ; but luckily it is all pulled down, 
so we did not have to do that, only look at the views ; and then we 
went down to the quai, and luckily there was a steamboat, for they 
have stopped running, only this is some kind of a feast-day ; and so 
it came along, and it is the greatest thing we have done yet, to 
;5ee all the people jabbering French on board, and the little tugs and 
things snorting about on the river. Then going under the bridges ! 
And I saw a great many principal buildings on the banks, which 
Mr. Stuysevant explained to me." 



TOMMY o 1.ARK. US 

" Stuyvesant," corrected Philip. 

'•'Well, Stuysevaiit," repeated Tommy. "Well, when we got to 
the place to land, it was after six, and we thought it was better to take 
our dinner at Vetbur"s, before coming on up here " 

" You should have told Mr. Stuyvesant tliat your mamma would 
be worried," said Mr. Horner, in mild reproof. 

" I did, papa, I did, really ; but to be sure I did not think of it 
till we got to the ice-cream. Tlien he said that he had been thinking 
of tliat, but he hoped we should not be very late, and that you would 
excuse us, just this once." 

"Well, go now to bed, for it is long past your bed-time," said his 
mother. " You will want to be well rested before to-morrow, for we are 
thinking of making an early start for the Louvre." 

"What! another palace, so soon?" groaned Tommy. 

They shut the door upon him, and he scrambled off up the stairs 
to his bedroom au cinquieme. 

St. Cloud is named after St. Chlodoald, the grandson of Clovis, 
who founded a monastery there. It is just near enough to Paris to 
have been the scene of many a battle in the mediaeval contests. Henri 
III., when besieging Paris in 1589, pitched his camp at. St. Cloud, 
and was assassinated there by Jacques Clement. The palace, now 
a ruin, was built by a wealthy citizen in 1572. It was bought and 
rebuilt by Louis XIV., who presented it to his brother, the Duke of 
Orleans. In 1782, it was purchased by Louis XVI., for Marie 
Antoinette. 

It was a favorite resort of the first Napoleon, and afterwards became 
the principal summer residence of Napoleon III. 

In October, 1870, the chateau, the barracks near it, and many oi 
the houses in the town, were completely burned down No town in the 
environs of Paris suffered so severely in the Prussian war, or presented 
so melancholy an appearance after it. For two years or more, the 
streets were a chaotic mass of ruins; but many of them have since 
been rebuilt, though the chateau has not been yet restored. 

The attraction of the place is, therefore, the park, laid out by 
Le N6tre, in the same stiff fashion as Versailles, and the beautiful 



120 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



view of the river and the city beyond, which Tommy enjoyed while 
he was eating his cakes. 

After this, Mr. Stuyvesant and Tommy became very intimate. 
When Mr. Horner had convinced himself that his old friend really 




OUTSIDE THE PALAIS BOURBON. 



liked the boy, and did not suffer himself to be imposed upon by him, 
he was only too glad to lend Tommy for excursions about Paris: 
and thus he came to see things which the others missed, and of which 
he afterward boasted to the end of time. 



TOMMY'S LAKE 



121 



He was with Mr. Stuyvesant one day in the begiuning of November, 
when the members of the legislative assembly were gathering at the 
Palais Bourbon ; and Mr. Stuyvesant pointed out to him M. Gambetta, 
now the leading man in French politics, toward whom the world was 
then looking in wonder whether he -would favor a time of tranquil 




M. GAMBKTTA. 

republicanism for France, or if lie might be plotting a coup d'etat. 

He took him to the Bourse, in the very height of its business-hour; 
and here he saw from the gallerx the corbeille, as it is called, where 
brokers of the stock exchange were gathered in an immense crowd. 
The noise, the bawling, and excited gestures of the speculators were 



122 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



wonderful to Tommy, although it was almost frightening ; the only 
intelligible words amidst the din were : "/e donne ! je prends ! je 

vends ! " 

The others saw the busy scene from the outside ; but it was only 
Tommy, who penetrated, with his experienced guide, to the very 
heart of it. 



^///^j;^ \fl^.^^^^^^r.-^; 




OUTSIDE OF THE BOURSE. 



THE LOUVRE. 



123 



CHAPTER XIII. 



THE LOUVRE. 



rT was not according to the Homers' system to do up the Louvre as 
A many tourists are obliged to, in one long, fatiguing tour of in- 
spection. Their day at Versailles would have taught them how 
unsatisfactory this sort of sight-seeing is, if they had not known it 
before. Staying, as they did, more than a month in Paris, they had 
plenty of time to go again and again to the palace, and as their hotel 
was not far from it, 
they rather often 
made the Louvre 
their place of meet- 
ing. 

In general, walking 
through any museum, 
without a special ob- 
ject, is the most tire- 
some thing in the 
world , tiresome to 
eyes, brain, and legs. 
The intelligence soon louvre 

refuses to take any 

note of the objects seen, and the process becomes a mechanical advance 
from corridor to gallery. Practiced travellers acquire a knack of passing 
rapidly through a collection of pictures, or of curiosities, and with a cata- 
logue and a few well-thrown glances, they manage to pick up a vague idea 
of the things shown ; but to do this, some previous knowledge of 
their nature is necessary. 

Mr. Horner was careful to induce the children to have some special 
object of interest each time they went to the Louvre. Their plai? 




124 



A FAMILY 1- LIGHT. 




PICTURE IN THE LOUVRE. 



was, to study thoroughly one part of it at once, and no other ; not to 
stay very loner, above all, not long enough to get th-ed and hnnory. 



THE LOU^'RE. 125 

In this way, they never came to consider tlie Louvre such a bore as 
Miss Stuyvesant had described it to Mary on her first visit, though 
Tommy "y countenance sometimes fell, when he found the Louvre 
was made the programme for the day. 

Thus the pictures, the statues, the Egyptian collection, etc., were 
ail taken separately at different times, and recurred to afterwards, 
according to the inchnation of different members of the family. 
The Egyptian antiquities were very attractive to every one of the 
party, and if they spent less time there than they would have liked, 
it was because other things seemed more pressing, and they all 
combined to form a plan, or a vision, rather than a plan, of going 
up the Nile sometime, to see for themselves the Ramses family at 
home. 

Miss Lejeune had a fair knowledge of the history of art, and of 
the merits of pictures ancient and modern. She thought Mary was old 
enough to be interested in the fascinating subject, and, indeed, at 
school the year before, Mary had been pretty well grounded in the 
early schools of art, by a course of lectures illustrated by photographs 
of the pictures of the oldest masters. She had with her the little 
note book she had made containing dates of the lives of the Bellinis, 
CJarpaccio, and others of the early Venetian school, to which the 
lectures had been chiefly devoted; and she was now interested in 
finding all the examples of their work she could, to see whether she 
could recognize them by her recollection of the photographs. This 
excellent preparation made her enjoy many old pictures which Bessie 
did not hesitate to declare horrid old things. Mary and Miss Lejeune 
got but little sympathy for their preraphaelite tendencies, and therefore 
went by themselves, whenever they made a pilgrimage to the shrine 
of ancient art. 

It is a stutly which grows with exercise. Mary soon began to wish 
that the gallery of the Louvre contained more old pictures, and to 
hope that their tour would take them to towns where these are to be 
seen at their best. Miss Lejeune told her that at Berlin, and Dresden, 
and also at London, on their way home, they should have a chance 
to see some of the most celebrated works of the old masters ; though 



126 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



Fl(H?ence, Venice, and Rome, where the best are, must be left for 
another trip, and Spain also. There are enough examples of the 
works of the most celebrated masters of art at the Louvre, to satisfy a 
beginner, at least. Miss Lejeune was delighted to find that Mary 
was willing really to study these pictures, and to compare the character- 
istics of different artists. To her own surprise, Mary found she was 
soon able to recognize a Fra Angelico, or a Bellini, and guess pretty 
nearly, if not always right, the school of painting to which a picture 
belonged. The early Venetian pictures, for instauce, she came to 
know by their rich coloring, as well as by the grave simplicity of the 
subjects. A Raphael she could soon recognize at the firtt glance. 
As for Peter Paul Reuben, as Philip disrespectfully called him, they 
all soon became familiar with his positive reds, blues, and yellows ; 
his blowzy Marie de M^dicis, surrounded by fat angels. The girls 
found them delightful to follow, iu counectiou with the history of 




PALACE OF THE LtrXEMBOUKG. 



this poor queen, driven out of her country by a managing cardinal, 
just when she had made her palace, the Luxembourg, luxurious to 
live in. 



THE LOUVRE. 129 

There are twenty-one large pictures of scenes from lier life, ordered 
by her from Rubens. He made the original sketches for them which 
are now at Munich ; for the Louvre pictures are chiefly the work of 
his pupils, executed under his direction. The mixture of history 
and allegory in them seems absurd, and Rubens' ideal of feminine 
beauty is too fat ;ii id florid to please all; but the series serves to show 
the events of the life of their heroine in an entertaining manner. 
Seeing Henry IV. in the character of Jupiter, and Mary de Medicis 
in that of Juno, larger than life and twice as blooming, made them 
remember better than learning it in ^ chronological table, that Henry 
IV. and Mary de Medicis were husband and wife. 

Miss Lejeune begged Mary to reserve hei- judgment of Rubens as 
a great master till she should see his finest work at Antwerp ; and 
meanwhile, to think of him not only as a painter of stout women, but 
a great traveller and accomplished gentleman, and a good friend to 
the exiled queen, who finally died at his house in Cologne. 

The pictures of their friend, Louis XIV., and of the people of his 
time, they sought out upon the walls, wherever they could fiud them, 
by Rubens, by Rigaud, and by Vandyck, whose portraits are uniivalJed 
in the world. 

On the whole, before they left Paris, Mr. Hervey and Miss Lejeune 
were satisfied in feeling that their young friends were beginning to 
know how to look at pictures, which was all they hoped for, in these 
early days. They had found out that a gallery is not like a shop 
window, where you may stare, admire, pass on, if you like, or stop 
and buy what you please ; but a place to be approached in reverence, 
and with the acknowledgment of ignorance. 

" That's pretty ! " " that's horrid ! " " I don't think much of that ! " 
were the criticisms they heard one day in the Salon Carre of the 
Louvre, from two young persons with a strong American accent, one 
of them nibbling from a box of sugar-plums, the other hopelessly lost 
in her catalogue. The Salon Carre contains the gems of the collection, 
and a few of the most celebrated pictures in the world. It would 
be well, if, instead of judging at a glance of these pictures, as of a 
piece of cambric on a counter, these young women had tried to think 



130 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 




LANDSCAPE IN THE LOUVRE. 

why they were world-renowned, and to weigh the importance of the 
judgment of several centuries against their own flippant taste. This 
would have helped them to an interest in the pictures and subjects, 
and perhaps after they had looked a little into the intention of the 
artists, their methods, then- lives, and the causes of tlieir fame, they 



THE LOUVRE. 13] 

would find their own opinions modified, and without affectation would 
be able to detect beauty and marvellous skill where they at first 
had seen but a daub. 

The Horners did not ask for their children a precocious perception 




'ilTIDO'S SAINT SEBASTIAN. 

of the excellence of good pictures. They wished them to know, 
however, what is a really correct standard of taste in these matters, 



132 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 




BY ALMA TADEMA. 



and to feel that if they differed from this, it was a defect in their 
judgment, and not the blunder of the world's verdict. 

They all found pictures which the}' liked, not on account of being 
marked with a star in Baedeker, or attached to a famous name ; such 
as charming landscapes, the triumph of the modern French school, 
realistic reproductions of classic scenes, in which Alma Tadema excels, 

and many others. 

To linger over the 
treasures in the 
Louvre, would fill up 
our book, and take 
the Horners but one 
step on their year's 
trip. Their month 
in Paris was too 
short to do these 
collections full jus- 
IN AN OMNIBUS. tJcc, and especially 




THE LOUVRE. 



13S 




OLD COUKT-YARD. 



as tliey had so many other things to fill up their time and attention. 
Their interest in Marie de Medicis, which the Rubens pictures 
had increased, made the Horners ready for the Palais du Luxembourg, 
and here they saw some more modern pictures. The day they devoted 
to this gallery. Tommy was rewarded for his general good behavior 



134 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



of late, on such occasions, by a long excursion in an omnibus with 
his father, in that part of Paris on the left bank of the Seine, generally 
spoken of as the other side of the river, ahliough it occu])ies as much 
as a third of the city, and is full of objects of interest. The streets are, 
for the most part, old and narrow, sometimes with openings into quiet 
old courts, as remote and tranquil as if the bustle of the boulevards 
was in another world. 

This expedition wound up with a visit to the Jardin des plantes, 
where Tommy was never tired of watching the monkeys, with their 
friendly cats domesticated among them, and '' Martin," tlie bear, who 
seemed to understand French as well as, or better, than he did him- 
self. Later in their travels Tommy had a chance to make acquaintance 
with Martin's relations. 

Another day Mr. Stuyvesant, who took every chance to improve 
his intimacy with Tommy, gave him a delightful tour in the Bois de 
Boulogne, and all about the Jardin d'acclimatation, which is another 
collection of animals scattered about in the open air, with all their 
natural surroundings, as far as possible. 




LAST DAYS IN PAKIS. 



ISb 



CHAPTER XIV. 



LAST DAYS IN PARIS. 



IT would be in vain to detail all the things our friends, the Homers, 
saw and did during their month in Paris. As the difficulty was 
then to select what to see and what to neglect, so it is now what 
to describe that they did see, and what to omit. At first the visit 
before them seemed so long, they thought, even the wisest of them 
that there would be time for everything. As they found out more 
and more what was to be done, the days seemed too short, and their 
strength inadequate for their sight-seeing, without falling into a 
senseless, mechanical routine of going from one museum to another, 

checking them off as they went 
in their guide-books. 

They went several times to the 
theatre, especially to the Theatre 
Frangais, although Sara Bernhardt 
had already left that stage, and 
was probably, at that time, super- 
intending the marvellous costumes 
with which she was to astonish 
the American world. At first the 
young people could not enjoy the play much, but as they became 
more accustomed to using and hearing French all the time, the meanino- 
of it all seemed to open upon their ears, and before they left Paris, 
they listened, almost as to an English performance, and could now 
recognize the stately pronunciation and careful diction which is 
insisted upon at this classical theatre. 

Twc Sundays, in the afternoon. Miss Lejeune went to Pas-de-loup 




j«{e A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

concerts, by the orchestra celebrated under the name of this leader. 
Mr. Hervey from the first confessed himself unmusical, but this 
defect was, though unwillingly, condoned, on account of his great 
excellence in other particulars. Mary and Bessie both enjoyed music, 
without having, either of them, talent enough to cultivate by taking 
lessons. The different churches and cathedrals were visited in turn, 
and they heard, one Sunday, the military mass at the Invalides. 

Mr. and Mrs. Horner were not able to avoid a few dinners and 

evenings given them 
by their American 
friends. A dinner at 
a boulevard restaur- 
ant, which genial Mr. 
Stuyvesant insisted 
upon giving, was a 
very gay affair. 

Miss Lejeune had 
many friends in Paris, 
and was constantly 
meeting acquaintances 
of former visits to 
Europe. But she man- 
aged to keep with 
her party almost al- 
ways. 

" You see, mj'^ dear," 
she said one day, to a 
charming little French 
lady with whom she 
had once spent a 
month at Nice, " 3^ou 
see I am here this time 
with a purpose. These Horner children must be educated." 

" I see, ma chere" replied the countess, " that among you all, you 
will make prigs of them. Who ever heard of taking our dear Paris 




MISS STUYVESANT. 



LAST DAYS IN PARIS. 



137 



au sSrieux to such an extent! Even the Communists made a joke of 
it, when they were knocking down our best buildings. I declare, I 
felt sorry for those two pretty girls you were drilling in the Louvre 
the other day, you and your beau jeune homme. 

" Don't be afraid," laughed Miss Augusta. " If our adventures 
should be written, I am sure there would not prove to be too much 
system in them. But we really wish our young people to leave 
Paris not without a few ideas. 

"Ideas!" exclaimed Madame de Mersac, "if that were all. I am 
afraid, however, that they will suffer from a real indigestion of facts ! " 

" Heaven forbid ! " uttered Miss Lejeune, and they parted, for it 
was in a shop, and each had an engagement. 

Miss Lejeune would 
have thought the edu- 
cation of the girls 
very ill-c o n d u c t e d 
without some practice 
in intelligent shop- 
ping in Paris, not only 
at the gorgeous maga- 
zines of the boule- 
vard, but the wonder- 
ful intricacies of the 
Bon March^, and the 
Printemps ; the latter, 
alas ! burned down 
since the Horners saw 
it; but doubtless, like 
the natural spring, to 
blossom forth again. 

The Bon March^ is 
an immense ware- 
house like Macy's in 
New York, " only more so," as Philip said. It is a little world in itself, 
where everything buyable may be found. The people who sell are 




ON THE BOULEVABD. 



138 A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

assiduous and affable, and not aggressive, which makes shopping easier 
than it is sometimes found to be in New York and Boston. 

Mary, who was left one day with Bessie at a counter trying on 
gloves, rejoiced to practice her sprouting French with the clerk who 
showed them to her. She talked more than the occasion really 
required, for she thought she was getting on pretty well, and that 
it was a good chance to pass herself off as a real Parisian. 
She imitated, as well as she could, the man's accent, and reproduced his 
terms of expression in her own sentences. When the business was 
over, which took some time, for she and Bessie were each buying a 
dozen to take away with them, the clerk said, in the best of English : 

"Shall I send these for you? You are staying, I believe, at the 
Hotel du Rhin." 

Mary stared at him, amazed and mortified, and at the same time 
afraid the man might mean an impertinence , but he came from 
the State of Maine, had been a clerk at Arnold and Constable's, in 
New York, and knew her mother by sight perfectly well. He had seen 
them all once or twice at different public places in Paris, and thus, 
with republican familiarity, ventured to scrape acquaintance. 

Mary took it good-naturedly, but as Bessie told the story afterward, 
it caused a general laugh at the expense of Mary's French. 

Perhaps the pleasantest part of the Paris period, as the Horners 
looked back upon it, was the quiet evenings at home in their 
salon at the hotel, when, resisting theatres, concerts, restaurants, and 
invitations, they settled down about their moderateur lamp and round 
table, to talk over the events of the day, with the pleasant French 
abbe, and, as the case might be, Mr. Stuyvesant, Mr. Hervey, or others 
dropping in. Not a few agreeable people had discovered the charm 
of this intelligent little family circle, and the only regret attaching 
to it was, that it was not permanent in Paris. 

One evening Miss Lejeune was repeating her little conversation 
with the French countess, whereupon Mr. Horner said : 

" Well, children, come now, do you suppose we really have learned 
anything?" 

" Of course we have ! " mumbled Tommy very sleepil}^ from a 



LAST DAYS IN PARIS. 139 

corner of the sofa where he had been dozing, with his head jammed 
up against his mother. 

'• I think we have learned," remarked Mary, " that there is a great 
deal to learn." 

"And I think," said Philip, "that we have found out how and 
where to find out more about the things we do not know." 

" Yes," said Bessie, who was knitting a long and mysterious thing, 
a feeble imitation of Miss Augusta's everlasting stripe, " if we do not 
forget to find them out afterward." 

"I think it would be a good plan for all of us," said Mrs. Horner, 
"when we get to some quieter place, to write out our impressions 
of all the things we have seen in Paris." 

" Do 3'ou think, mamma," said Philip, coming to take the place 
by her side, which Tommy had reluctantly left to go to bed, " do 
you think we shall ever get to a quieter place, until we get home ? 
There will always be a museum, or something." 

" Tell me now, Phil," said Mary, lightly, " before you fall asleep, 
who was Marie de Medicis ? " 

" Second wife of Henri IV.," replied Philip, promptly, " mother 
of Louis Xni., grandmother of Louis XIV. : poor old queen who 
quarreled with Richelieu and got turned out of France, made a great 
deal of trouble, and died in the Pays-bas." 

" Good for you ! " continued Bessie, " and Louis XV. was great- 
grandson of Louis XIV., because the other heirs to the throne kept 
dying between, and Louis XIV. would live forever ; and then by the 
time Louis XVI. came to the throne, the money was all spent, and the 
splendor was all gone, and the people rose up and guillotined all 
the royal family, and that was the end of the great house of Bourbon." 

"Oh no! you forget Louis XVIII., and — " 

" No," said Bessie, very positively, " because that I do not count. 
After the revolution, comes Bonaparte, and then with a little gap of 
republics and trifling kmgs, Louis Napoleon, with the second empire." 

" You would do well, my dear, at your leisure to look up your 
gap and your trifling kings," remarked Miss Lejeune, " for they 
are really not witliout importance." 



140 A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

The abb^, who understood English veiy well, was laughing at this 
summary fashion by which his country's history was disposed of. 

" If you had lived through all that gap, Miss Bessie, you would 
not think it so trifling." 

" Oh, I did not mind that," said Bessie hastily, and coloring, " only 
these other times seem more like landmarks to fix dates to." 

The old abb^ patted her shoulder lightly. 

" You do very well, my young Miss, to have so any an idea of my 
monarchs." 

"Papa is the man for Napoleon," cried Philip. "He and I went 
all over the Invalides, which the rest of 3'ou have not j-et, and I believe 
papa has seen every relic of him that can be found in Paris." 

" Yes," said Mr. Hervey, " while the rest have been otherwise occu- 
pied, you two have been working up your Bonapartes, I believe, 
thoroughly." 

" After I got Abbot's history of him out of my head," said Philip, 
" I could begin to enjoy his battles and his ambition. But that is 
so flattering, full of accounts of his magnanimity, and giving crowns to 
small boys — " 

" You mean taking crowns from large kings," said Mary. 

" Oh pshaw, Mary ! " exclaimed Philip. " I mean a lot of anecdotes 
about his clemency, illustrated by cuts." 

"I believe," said Mr. Horner, "those florid histories of Napoleon 
which were written at first, really injured his glory by giving a 
false account of him. The more I read of him, and the feats of his 
tremendous will, as well as his weak and mean traits, the more 
remarkable he appears." 

It was now late in November. The weather had been unusually 
mild for Paris, but of late, the days were chilly and raw, so that 
the Homers had a fire in their salon. But the stupid little French 
grate has no power, apparently, for giving out heat. The dull coals 
glowed, but warmed not ; Philip pulled up and down the blower 
attached to the fire-place in vain ; they all shivered, even when 
close to the hearth. The very day after this last conversation when 
they woke up, the streets were white with siiow ! A brisk flurry was 



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1* *fC > 



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1 


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jj* -f^,^ •' ^ 




a .j^ 



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syi Ji^ -. <?"'-£, 



LAST DAY8 IN PARIS. 



143 



falling on the fountains and the obelisk in the Place de la Concorde 
It was a warning that they had stayed long enough. Paris ni 
winter, in a hotel, is uncomfortable, and it was their plan (if they 
had any) to settle in Germany for the short months of the year, and 
especially, to spend Christmas in some essentially German town. 

In a few days their establishment was broken up, their trunks were 
packed, and they were actually over the border. Mr. Hervey accom- 
panied them to the station and saw them finally off, promising, 
however, to meet them somewhere soon. 

And so with infinite regret they were leaving their dear Paris, and 
tneir pretty French language, to become Germans I 







FRENCH ROOFS. 



^*4 A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



CHAPTER XV. 



OUT OF FRANCE. 



OUR travellers were now for the first time to be put to the severe 
test of a long, unbroken railway journey of hours, riding night 
and day until they should reach Frankfort. 

There are evidently two opposite plans of travelling, which might be 
called the " kill-yourself-but-get-there," and the " take-it-easy " systems. 
If the first of these is adopted, an imm3nse amount of ground may 
be covered in a short time. Tourists, on the continent, are at all 
times to be met, with their guide-books at their noses, and their 
Hendschel's railway-guide ever open before them, rushing by express- 
train from one large town to another, doing in each its cathedral and 
checking off its gallery, and then off and away for the next. 

The natural result of this method is, that the tourists who employ 
it fill their heads with the names of towns, routes, and countries. 
They show a remarkable power of remembering where they have been, 
but a feeble recollection of what they have seen. 

The take-it-easy plan, as it sounds, is more comfortable, and more 
improving. The take-it-easy people are far more entertaining about 
their travels, although in talking with the other sort they are frequently 
tripped up by the question: 

" Did you go to so-and-so ? No ? oh ! you ought not to have misbcd 
that ! Why, it is the only place on that route worth seeing. Let 
me see ; what was it we saw there ? oh, the cathedral, of course. 
What! no cathedral? no, to be sure; it was a bear we saw 
there." 

Still, there are faults in the iake-it-easy plan. It must be admitted 
that in the fable of the hare and the tortoise, the hare got over the 



OUT OF FRANCE. 145 

most ground in a given time, and life is too short for the tortoise 
business nowadays. 

Some experienced travellers, therefore, believe in a judicious combina- 
tion of the two plans, and their way is to stay and rest, observe, and 
learn in some important place, and then to take great swoops, even 
across continents if necessary, in express-trains, regardless of fatigue, 
in order to alight in the next place they wish to thoroughly examine. 

It was now well on in December, and the season was too late for 
attractive study of nature. This was no time for the Rhine, or tor 
short excursions among the towns of Holland. 

Mr. Horner resolved, therefore, to strike at once for Germany, 
where they were to settle down, in a measure, for the winter ; he 
bought through tickets for Frankfort-am-Main, on a road between 
that town and Paris, tolerably direct, passing through a country where 
they would not be tempted to linger, and would not miss much 
during the night part of the journey. The ground is that fought 
over so sadly by the French, in the last war with Germany, and the 
stations, Saarbriick, Kaiserlauten, etc., had a melancholy sound to those 
of the party who remembered the daily telegraphic rumors and reports 
of that bitter struggle of 1870. 

It was an experiment to risk this long trip ; but if it were a success, 
it would ensure the success of the whole European excursion. It 
might prove that the family health could not stand it. They might 
all be so used up on arriving at Frankfort, that they could neither 
go forward, nor enjoy a rest. The family temper might not stand 
it. Perhaps the children would all grow so horribly cross, in their 
long confinement to one railway carriage, that they would be mutually 
unbearable. It sometimes happens. Or, if only one of the party 
should develop violent symptoms of selfishness, he might easily make 
matters so disagreeable for the rest, that they would all agree, since 
they could not separate, to give up in future such a trying experience. 

But Mr. Horner had a good deal of faith in the nerves, tempers, 
and good breeding of his little band, and especially of their bodily 
good condition and good digestion, upon which all other qualities 
depend so much. Mrs. Horner was not very strong, but was cheerful. 



146 A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

even when tired. Mary, in spite of her delicacy, showed a wonderfu] 
capacity for endurance, and her temper was so sweet, there was onl}; 
danger of her allowing herself to be put upon. Bessie, solid and 
stolid, expected to sleep as well in her corner of the " car," as they 
still called it, as in her own little bed at home. Philip did not care 
whether he slept or not, and rather enjoyed the idea of a wakeful 
night. As for Tommy, they were only afraid he might get lost, in 
trying private excursions on his own account; but he promised all 
manner of obedience and propriet}^ and was indeed learning these 
virtues. Poor Miss Lejeune ! She hated a night in the train, being 
rather fussy, as the children thought, about where and how she slept • 
but she fully believed in the rapid transit plan, and had advocated 
it from the first. It was suspected she was rather glad that Mr. 
Hervey was not going with them, on account of her " crinkles " ui 
the morning, but the others were loud in their grief at parting from this 
dear man. Mr. Hervey, from the first, assumed that he was to be left 
in Paris. He was with them, however, to the last, and nodded coixlially 
at them from the platform as the train rolled out of the station. 

" How I shall miss you," he said, as he stood at the open door of 
their wagon, waiting the signal of departure. 

" What are you going to do, now we are gone ? " asked Tommy. 

"Hush, Tommy!" said his mother. "Mr. Hervey never tells his 
plans." 

Mr. Hervey laughed, saying: "My plans now are not interesting 
enough to tell. That business I spoke of," he added, glancing at 
Mr. Horner, " detains me here, I know not how long. Mind you 
keep me informed of your movements ; and I dare sa}- I may turn 
np again." 

The porter shut the door, the whistle gave a little shriek, not so 
imposing as the long moan of an American steam-whistle, and the 
train was off. 

" So that is the last of Mr. Hervey ! " exclaimed Philip, throwing 
himself back in his seat with a jerk. 

" Why do you say the last of him ? " asked Miss Lejeune, rathei' 
sharply. 



OUT OF FRANCE. 



147 



" Oh, because," replied Phil, with the air of a man of the world, 
"he always says he travels without a plan, so as to be free to do what 
he likes. I suppose now he will go and join some other party." 

Mr. Horner smiled, and Mrs. Horner smiled too, but no more was 
said then on the subject, probably because none of them knew any- 




THE POINTSMAN. 



thing, and considered their guesses not worth mentioning. The young 
folks at the windows were soon absorbed in the scenery through 
which they passed. 

It began to rain, and as it grew dark, nothing wai*- to be seen 
but long lines of dripping landscape, varied by the st-.ti-.-^'is and 
little houses where the pointsman lives. 



148 A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

" And SO we have left our dear Paris ! " exclaimed Mary. " I do 
not believe I shall like any other place as well. " 

" Our room at the Hotel du Rhin was so cosy," said Bessie. 

" And ours,'* added Phil, "was splendid; you could see so niucu 
down in the place." 

" And Pierre was so jolly," said Tommy. " I taught him a good 
deal of English." 

Pierre was the gargon who brought their coffee to tlie salon. He 
was a very friendl}^, intelligent fellow, who had made himself useful, 
and they all liked him much. When they drove off from the hotel, 
in their small omnibus, again piled high with trunks, he stood on the 
sidewalk in his white apron, his hair ruffled by the parcels he had 
carried on his shoulder, with an expression of real regret on his face. 
It was their last impression of friendliness in Paris. 

" Now we shall begin to talk horrid German," grumbled Bessie, 
"old der-die-das business. I know I shall not like it as well as 
nice easy French." 

They had gone on for some time growling among themselves, 
lamenting their lost Paris, and making resolutions to liate the Ger- 
mans and always love their Parisians, without any aid from the 
elders, who, tired with the getting off, were silent, until Miss Lejeune 
roused herself, and sitting up, said : 

" Look here, children, now comes one of my sermons. I love 
Paris as well as you do, and think French far prettier and easier 
than German. But it will never do for j^ou to go regretting 
along through Europe. Put your affection for Paris in your pockets, 
and turn your minds and hearts for what is coming next. ' Le 
roi est moi% vive le roi' Now, for the present, we have done with 
Louis XIV., his boulevard and all its gay shops. Who comes next 
to take his place ? " 

"Der Kaiser Wilhelm I " 

" Barbarossa! " 

"Charlemagne ! " — exclaimed the children together, whereupon the 
grown-ups laughed. Mrs. Horner sighed. ''I wish," she said, "the line 
of German monarchs was as smooth and easy as the descent of the Valois • 



OUT OF FRANCE. 



149 



out it is so mixed and divided up into states that a clear idea seems 
difficult." 

" At Frankfort we shall see the pictures of all those emperors that are 
in Miss Yonge's history," said Mary. 




fi^/i^^r- ^ ' ^^ IIT"-^! ~~- ==- :* 

THE EMPEROR BARBAROSSA AND POPE ABRIAN. 

"Must we know as much about the emperors as we ^m about the 
French kings, papa?" inquired Tommy anxiously. 

" You will get very much interested in some of them," replied his 
father encouragingly , " and you will not be much disgraced J^ you 
do not keep the chronology of the German empire very clear. For the 
boundaries of Europe have been changed so often it is not easy to say 
what Germany is, or rather what it was, before the present emperor com- 
bined it all within one government." 

" Hateful old emperor ! " cried Bessie. " How I hate liim for ruining 
the French." 



15tf 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



"Hush! hush!" cried Miss Lejeune. "You are much too near the 
boundary for that ! " and in fact at that moment the door was thrown 
open, and the guard, now become n iSehaffner, cried, " Zwei minuten 
alles absteigen ! " and they felt that they really had crossed the border, 
and entered another country. 




INTO GEKMANY. 



Ifii 



CHAPTER XVL 



INTO GERMANY. 



MARY'S letter from Frankfort to her friend and schoolmate, Cicely 
Stratton, will perhaps give a fair idea of first impressions iu 
Germany. 

" . . We left Paris in great gloom and terror of the unknown Ger- 
man tongue, after our dear French, which has become quite easy to us. 




MAYENCE. 



The Stuyvesants, Mr. and Miss, came to see us off, — sweet of them, — 
with a bag full of pears and oranges. We had a good enough night on the 
train, though it is not exactly sleep you get with your head jammed into 
a corner, and each new position more uncomfortable than the last. We 



152 A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

reached Metz at dawn, to be told that we could walk about for a few mo- 
ments, then jogged en over an uninteresting country all the morning : 
but at two or three we began to draw near the Rhine, old castles, etc.. 
very exciting, and the lovely sun, which we had not seen for several days, 
came out, with the rare phenomenon of blue sky. 

•• Can you not fancy us at Bingen — ' Sweet Biiigen on the Rhine ? 




MAYENCE CATHEDKAL. 



Phil of course began to spout the poem, as if he were trying for a prize 
on the platform at school. Tommy's amazement at first discovering 
there was any sense or meaning in the lines, was good. We saw tlie 



INTO GERMANY. 153 

Mails Tower, Ehrenfells, Riidesheim, all lighted with a lovely glow ; but 
of course we postpone any real Rhine emotions till we do it next spring. 
Then darkness came down suddenly. It was a scenic effect, there for 
one minute, and then gone. We had to change wagons at Mayewce, and 
stayed there an hour. Papa and Phil walked about the town. When 
we got in again there was a fraiilein in the same compartment, for the 
train was very crowded, and we tried our little German on her ; and soon 
we reached Frankfort in the pitch dark. 

" Now everybody began to be lovely and friendly, and aunt Gus to 
sling about her German. A sweet German in a blue blouse seized us, 
and we were thrust into two yellow droschkys, which are like fiacres, 
with one horse, but more roomy. Our driver was a lovely man, so Ger- 
man, who brought us at once to our hotel, where everything is clean and 
quiet, and where we have lots of rooms full of fluffy beds. The proprie- 
tor talks English perfectly well, which is mortifying though convenient, 
but we have to do German with the maids and kellners. 

" So after a nice little dmner we sank into our first German beds, but I 
can't stop here to describe them, only it is like being in the middle o/ 
Charlotte Russe with white-of-egg on top. 

"Baedeker has a very good plan of the town, and with it Phil, 
Bessie and I have been finding our way about the streets by ourselves, 
while papa sees bankers, and gets German money, etc. We have to come 
back for table dliote dinner as early as one o'clock, which seems queer 
after Paris. We are enchanted with Frankfort. Everything looks like 
Oscar Pfletsh's pictures. The streets are very muddy, and have no side- 
walks, and the houses are like the underneath part of stairs. The ' Land- 
strasses ' outside the town are rural, with trees, and very pretty, and it 
is all so mixed that first you are in town and then you are not, and then 
back again throngh a ' Thor ' which is no longer a Thor, but a tradition. 

" In the afternoon we went, some of us, in a yellow droschky to a 
public garden, wliere we had the most lovely time. There is a big 
garden, and then a sort of small crystal palace, where, under glass, 
is a pile of artificial rock-work witli water pouring over it, and palms 
and tree-ferns, winding paths and hidden seats. Here we wandered till 
the music began, and then went into the gallery of a large hall that 



154 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



belongs to it, and heard our first really German music. Perfectly delight- 
ful ! Aunt Gus and I squeezed each other's hands at a waltz of Strauss. 
They go at the music with a will, and make it sound more intense than 
any I ever heard. Everybody, up and down-stairs, was sitting at little 
tables, the men smoking, women knitting, all jabbering and little mind- 
ing the music. By and by we ordered tea and bread and cake. When 
it was all over it was dark, though still early, and we came down to the 
front gate to take our droschkys. Now we had a queer little adventure, 
because there was but one; but, as we thought there were plenty 
more, the others got into that and drove off, and it was mamma and I 
and Phil that were left. Only there were no more droschys, apparently, 
and two policemen kept whistling for one in vain. Suddenly one of these 
men (who was in a box and stuck his head out of it) cried, in German, 

so fiercely that we 
grasped his meaning, 
something like this : 
' There's a horse-car, 
if you want that I'll 
make it stop.' ' Ja ! 
Ja! ' I said. He 
whistled, it stopped, 
and we hustled into it. 
Mamma was rather 
frightened, and askecf 
me, as we were run- 
ning to it, if I knew 
the way to the hotel 
when we got there! 
as if that were likely. 
We got into a very 
singular ' pferdeisen- 
bahnwagen,' which is 
divided off in the mid- 
dle, so that you sit with only half the passengers. This makes a sort oi 
sociable thing of it, and all present took the wildest interest in us, and all 




STATUE OF GUTENBERG. 







PALM GAKDEN. 



INTO GERMANY. 



157 



jabbered at once to tell us where to get out. A man in a peaked hat 
and a fraiilein had a difference of opinion on this snhject. The conductor 
came in and mixed himself in the matter, and altogether we got very merry 
and laughed a great 
deal, paid strange 
sums, and received lit- 
tle green tickets, 
which we have still, 
for it is an odd thing 
that in Germany they 
give and do not take 
tickets, and thus we 
have them all left 
over. 

" Now we were 
dumped out in the 
middle of a dark 
street, with parting 
advice to go links and 
rechts. Luckily we 
saw the statue of Giit- 
enburg looming up, 
and Phil knew how to 
go by that, and soon 
we found ourselves 
triumphant at our 
hotel > papa just pay- 
ing his droschky, and 
looking down the 
street after ours, for 
this had all taken only 
a short while, luckily, so the others had not begun to worry. 
''The chief shopping street is the Zeil, full of enchanting little shops, 
toys, pictures, and gay things, not pretentious, like the magazins du loule- 
vard at Paris, but sort of home-like. . . . ' 




FRANKFORT: LUTHER'S HOUSE. 



158 A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

Frankfort, on the threshold, so to speak, of Germany, is a town full of 
interest historically, and very bright, pleasant, and attractive also. It 
dates from Charlemagne, 794. Old watch-towers in the neighborhood 
show the extent of the ancient city, in whicli the emperors were elected 
and crowned. An air of wealth and importance pervades the place, 
showing the success and extent of its commercial relations. 

The Romer is, historically, the most interesting building. It was bought 
by the city, in 1405, for a town hall. It contains, in the ''Kaisersaal," a 
succession of portraits of the emperors ; modern pictures, it is true, and 
without great merit as works of art, but very useful to individualize the 
different heroes of the old Roman Empire, whom the children were now 
becoming acquainted with, as they before had learnt to know the French 
monarchs of importance. They spent much time among these pictures, 
selecting their favorites, and discussing their characters. Tommy foun(] 
it hard to understand the emperors being elected, and wanted to know 
why in that case they were different from presidents ; his father took 
some pains to make him see the difference between the hereditary suc- 
cession of countries like France and England, where the crown descends 
from father to son, and the plan adopted from early times in Germany, 
where seven electors, acknowledged or supposed to be the wisest heads 
of the land, were allowed to appoint the successor of each emperor. 

Three of these electors were bishops, and the others dukes or 
princes of large possessions and powers, and it was their business to meet 
and discuss and decide during the lifetime of one emperor, who should 
come next to him. 

Mr. Horner pointed out how the two systems have not been so very 
different in the long run ; for every emperor would naturally wish to 
keep the crown in his own family • and if he were strong and powerful, 
he could force the electors to appoint his own son or natural heir, so that 
it often did descend from father to son for several generations. 

On the other hand, in France, where the rule was for the crown to de- 
scend from father to son, this worked ver}^ well under the same circum- 
stances, — that is, if the king was strong and powerful ; but, if he were 
weak and unpopular, some duke or other rival got possession of the 
throne and changed the dynasty, so that since the time of Charlemagne, 



INTO GERMANY. 151. 

the number of reigning families is hardly greater in the German empire 
than in France, where the direct succession has been lost several times, 
or than in England, where it has been by no means direct. 

The children were beginning also to understand that in earlier times, 
when there was no public communication between different countries, the 
title of emperor, duke, or king, meant something very unlike the same 
words in the modern system of government. Arbitrary as the old 
sovereigns were, and undisputed as might be their right to control, 
they could not easily exercise it without railroads, telegraph, police, 
or newspapers. In the absence of the emperors, who often were off 
either alone or with whole armies, asserting their claim over the impe- 
rial city of Rome, — like Barbarossa in the picture, — making friends 
witii thd pope, or fighting as crusaders in Palestine, not only princes and 
nobles grew powerful, but separate cities became very strong. They 
liaa their own trades and manufactures, governed themselves, and wisely, 
too, by their own town-councils , training their faien to arms and fortify- 
ing their walls to be a match for the nobles. Those who owned no lord 
but the emperor, called themselves free imperial cities. They had fleets 
and armies, made treaties, and were much respected ; and in confused 
times maintained far better order than existed in other parts of the 
country. 

Frankfort is one of these, formerly called a free town of the empire, 
afterwards of the German confederation. In 1866, when all Germany 
was united under the present emperor, all these free towns lost their indi- 
viduality, and became, like any other, parts of the new Prussian empire. 

The Horners saw in Frankfort the birthplace of Goethe, of whom they 
were destined to hear and know much more while they were in Germany, 
and the Ariadne, by Danneker, a beautiful piece of modern sculpture, 
which has been often reproduced iu Parian as a statuette or mantel 
ornamenp. 



ItiO A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



CHRISTMAS. 



BY the advice, and through the kindness of the American Consul at 
Frankfort, who at that time considered it a pleasure as well as his 
duty, to bestow upon travellers who were his countrymen the result of 
his experience during- a long life in Germany, Mr. Horner decicied to stay 
there through December, and thus pass the German Christmas ia 

that city. Mr. W secured for them a pleasant apartment in the 

Anlagen or suburbs of Frankfort, where they now settled down for 
these few weeks as if quite at home, even more so than at Paris ; and 
though not venturing real housekeeping in her little establishment, 
as their meals were sent in from a restaurant, Mrs. Horner engaged a 
German maid, a stout, honest, red-faced Thuringian, named Elise, who 
furnished a severe test to the family German, and a source of some enter- 
tainment to the boys. 

Their suite was " zweite treppe hoch," which means two flights up. 
The door of entrance had a bell-rope, witha handle hanging to it, exactly 
like the illustrations by Oscar Pfletsch. A neat little parlor connected 
with a smaller dining-room, and the necessary number of bedrooms ; and 
there was a kitchen on the same floor, where Elise reigned supreme, made 
tneir coflee in the morning, washed dishes, etc. It was hard for Tommy 
to get used to a kitchen up-stairs, and close to the bedrooms and parlor ; 
a funny little kitchen it was, too, with all sorts of earthen-ware pots and 
pans, unlike the shining tin of a Yankee pantry, but all very handy and 
useful. 

A tall white German stove ornamented the dining-room, and became 
very important as the days grew shorter and the cold sharper. Happily 
the parlor contained a little open fire-place, so that they were not deliv- 



CHRISTMAS. 



16] 



ered over to the cheerless warmth of the national institution of Germany ; 
bill; they found themselves, after all. srrowinor attached to their ta.. jtove, 
although it had such a 
talent for going out that 
Elise had constantly to 
be summoned to kindle 
it again. Mary and Bes- 
sie found it very warm- 
■ng to lean up against, 
pressing their backs 
closely to the warm bat 
not too hot surface, when 
they came in chilled 
through, sometimes, on 
a sunless day in Decem- 
ber. In fact they had 
snow before they left, 
and Bessie had the fun 
of a walk in a flurry 
quite like a storm at 
home. The parlor had 
two windows overlook- 
ing a pretty garden, 
though at this season 
flowerless , there were 
window-seats, and the 
sashes opened like doors. 
Pots of pretty blossom- 
ing plants were placed 
in the windows by the 
friendly landlady, who 
took a great interest in 
her American lodgers, 
and who was a good deal surprised to find they talked English and 
not Indian, and that they did not eat human flesh. 







GKKMAN CHILUKKN. 



162 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



In Fnmkfort there are many more English and Americans than in 
the smaller interior towns of Germany ; the shops and hotels are as 
cosmopolitan as in other large towns ; but there is a great barrier of 
ignorance and conservatism among the lower classes everywhere in 
Germany, which prevents their receiving advanced ideas. They travel 

not at all, read 
but few news- 
papers ; an ex- 
pedition of five 
hours on the 
railway is too 
expensive to be 
dreamed of; 
thus their no- 
tions of other 
nations are very 
primitive, and 
abovit Ameri- 
cans especially. 
The}^ seem to 
think our cus- 
toms are about 
the same now 
as when Colum- 
bus found them. 
The furniture 
of the parlor 
was comforta- 
ble, but stiffly 
arranged, until the airy touch of Miss Lejeune had thrown a little agree- 
able confusion into it. Before the sofa stood the little sofa-table, where 
the afternoon coffee was each day brought ; it was flanked on each side by 
a large chair, and this grouping was so dear to the heart of Elise, that 
whenever it was disarranged, she immediately put it all back again. 
This sofa is the sacred spot in a German salon. A seat upon it is the 




A GERMAN KITCHEN. 




BESSIE IN THE SNOW STORM. 



1G3 



CHRISTMAS. 165 

place of honor to which the guest of most importance is conducted. 
Next to him or her must sit the hostess, in courteous conversation, while 
minor lights may cluster about them. Everything in the room was 
covered with some piece of worsted work or embroidery. "In fact," 
Mary wrote to her friend, " there is not a straight line in Germany 
which has not been decorated with a pattern out of the Bazar." 

The carpet was stretched over the middle of the room only, while the 
rest of the floor, left bare, was painted and polished. Several of the other 
rooms had no carpets, only neatly oiled or painted floors, and a few rugs ; 
but they were kept clean and carefully rubbed by the ever industrious 
Elise, who also was forever polishing bright the brass door-handles, and 
knobs for various uses, which abounded in the apartment. 

Altogether, the Horners felt their establishment gemiithlich, and applied 
themselves, as they had in Paris, to tasting a little the characteristic life 
of the place. They made and received a few visits from some very pleas- 
ant German families, and thus saw something of the customs of the 
inhabitants ; they were charmed with their simple, unpretentious manner 
of living, in which economy plays a conspicuous part, but where the lack 
of luxury is made up for by simple ornaments, worked by industrious 
hands — footstools, chair-tidies, coffee-warmers, everything that affection, 
^ aided by the least possible amount of money, can devise for the comfort 
of the home. 

Now lessons began, — real serious study of the German language. Every 
morning, after the very simple breakfast of coffee and rolls, the dining- 
room was given over to grammars and dictionaries, and nothing was to 
be heard for some hours but the scratching of pens, and inflection of verbs, 
and the frequent recurrence of " der, die, das," that terrible complicated 
article, which now took the place of the light and airy "le " and "la " of 
the French. An excellent professor, Herr Saitel, recommended by Mr. 

W , undertook to plant his native German in the heads of all the young 

Horners. He proved an admirable teacher, for he knew enough of Eng- 
lish to understand the points of difficulty ; and, unlike many German 
professors, did not suppose that his duties were limited to reading and 
explaining the principal works of Schiller and Goethe. 

Even Tommy was compelled to apply himself for an hour of German 



166 A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

reading and writing, which, in axUUtion to what he picked up in his con. 
ferences with Elise, and all the people tliey met,nuule him a fluent, if not 
au accomplished German before long. There were two little German chil- 
dren who lived oben, that is, on the story above the Homers, with whom 
Tommy soon struck up an acquaintance. Gertrude was a 
solid little hiss with a thick braid of blonde hair down 
her back, and Louis, a gentle little boy of seven. 

These children were now full of the approach of Christ- 
mas, and through the whole town the preparation for that 
festival was apparent. Every family has a tree at Christ- 
mas as regularly as we have roast turkey on Thanksgiving 
Day, and, for several days beforehand, the market-place and 
streets were full of " Tannen-baums " leaning up against the 
houses, — solid little fir-trees which adapt themselves better 
to the candles and decorations of a Christmas-tree, than the 
hemlock and other growths which are found in our ^ 
American woods. 

The Horners were invited, through their friends, to louis. 

half a dozen different trees, and, by dividing their 
forces, managed to see them all, thus gratifying the genuine hospitality 
of their friendly German acquaintances. One or two were occasions of 
great splenaor, but the most characteristic, perhaps, was that of the little 
Gertrude and Louis, who lived above them, which Mary thus described 
in her letter to her friend : — 

" In a little while the tree was ready, and it was very pretty, but, except 
Louis and Gertrude, the others did not pretend to look at it much ; for 
Emile and Gustel had dressed it themselves, and everybody had seen it 
beforehand, so there was no locking of doors and bursting in. It looked 
just like our trees, although Fraiilein Liidt said, ' Of course, in America 
you can have only imitation Tannen-baums,' thinking that the American 
trees all grow of pasteboard. The tree had lights and balls and candy on 
it, and the presents for each were set about the room on tables. The 
fraiileins, who were invited guests, had sweet things laid out for them. 
I thought they were rather rude, for though they cried *reizend I ' and 
* wunderschon,' they said generally that they had got the same things 




CHKISTMAS. 16S 

before. Frau Goben looked at her pile with interest. She had a black 
moreen petticoat and a fire-rug, and a pen-wiper, and a bottle of ' rau- 
chend-pulver,' which they sprinkle on their stoves to partially avert a 
kind of burnt-iron smell inherent to their nature. That was all; but she 
seemed content, and so did the other relations, screaming and carrying 
on, just as we used to, when we looked at our presents. 

" ' Have you seen my pile ? Look at this lovely brioche (footstool), 
the grandmamma made it herself.' Johanna had made and trimmed a 
hat for Gustel, black velvet with a rose, and Emile, who goes to Leipsic 
to school next week, had a trunk, and new trousers and a knife, and six 
pocket handkerchiefs marked in red. Everybody had a packet of pfleffer- 
kuchen. Now they brought out champagne. We all ate pfleffer-kuchen 
and little cakes cut out in odd shapes: cocks and hens, dogs, men, 
etc. The one servant came in and had her pile given her. There was 
to be a supper then, a great occasion, with herring-salad, made by the 
grandmother herself according to a time-honored custom, but we were all 
engaged to the Ws., and came away early. The funny thing was that all 
this time they did not take much notice of the tree itself, which stood 
burning away there with its pretty little lights, and when we politely 
began to praise it, they said, ' Oh yes ! I suppose you do not have them 
in America.' 

" This was in English, and Tommy was so mad that he blurted out, 
' Yes we do, and a hundred times better ! ' but I stuffed pfleffer-kuchen 
into his mouth, and I hope he was not heard. 

" These trees were all lighted on Christmas eve, called heilig-abend. 
They have three feast days, the second being the real Christmas day, 
when everyone goes to church, and has a real Christmas dinner, and 
during the third the shops are still shut and the holiday continued ; but 
the children's great time of rejoicing is Christmas eve." 



170 A FAMILY FLiGHT. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

MR. HERVEY. 

ON the morning of Christmas, when most of the party were about 
to o-et ready for the service at the Dom-kirche, or cathedral, the 
postman came in rather later than usual, bearing a huge box. They 
had become very friendly with this postman, who was in the habit 
of stepping in with the letters, and having a little chat about the 
weather and affairs generally; on this occasion his friendship was 
stimulated by a Christmas-present the day before, from Mr. Horner. 

All gathered about this box, much larger than anything they were 
accustomed to see coming by mail. The post-office service is admirable 
in Germany, although encumbered by certain rules and regulations 
which seem rather fussy to slip-shod foreigners. It takes the place of 
all other express business, and large packages can go by mail from 
one part of Germany to another in perfect safety, and very cheap. 

The box was from Hamburg, and addressed to Mrs. Horner. 

" It is Mr. Hervey's handwriting," shrieked Philip. Elise was sum- 
moned. Nobody knew the German for screw-driver. The Brief-trager 
drew from his pocket a stalwart knife, and pried off the only slightly- 
fastened lid, after which he disappeared in the confusion, unnoticed. 

The box contained a paper box within, full of exquisite fresh-cut 
flowers from a green-house, marked "for the ladies," and a huge 
package of candies and all sorts of wonderful sugar-plums for the 
children. A card lay on top, inscribed : 

" Much love and a merry Christmas ! 

FROM Clarence Hervey. 
Hamburg, Dec. 23." 




HAMBUItG MAKKKT-WOMAN. 



171 



MR. HERVEY. I73 

" Mr. Hervey at Hamburg ! ' they exclaimed ; but Miss Lejeune 
said : — 

" In all this Christmas bustle, 1 forgot to tell you that I had a note 
from him, saying he had left Paris." 

"- Oh, why didn't he come here ! " groaned Tommy. 

" But look at the beautiful things he has sent ! " said Mary, and 
she buried her face in a delicious mass of roses, heliotropes, and all 
manner of perfumed blossoms. 

Hamburg is celebrated for its beautiful hot-house flowers, which 
are not to be seen in other German towns, where it is still the fashion 
to make up stiff and set bouquets in req'iilar circles, in which immortelles 
and evergreen predominate. 
Plants in pots, early bulbs, 
cyclamen and such things 
are plentiful, but the charm 
of cut-flowers is rare, ex- 
cept at Hamburg, where 
the}' are cultivated and sold 
in profusion. 

The sugar-plums of Ham- 
burg are also celebrated. 

" And Mr. Hervey," said 
Philip, "is just the fellow 
to find that out," as he 
cracked a bon-bon, very 
delicious, between his teeth. 
This pleasant reminder 
of their friend and coun- 
tryman, gave the party the 
feeling of home, which the 
feast had otherwise lacked, and Christmas having thus happily passed, 
the children settled down with fresh alacrity to their German lessons, 
and to their study of the old emperors in the Romer, which they 
visited whenever they had made a new acquaintance among the heroes 
of history or tradition. 




ST. HENRY. 



174 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



The following is a list of the favorites among the emperors of the 
young Homers, with the reasons which they gave for their preference ; 
reasons not always very deep, or perhaps to be reverenced by serious 
historians. Great difference of opinion prevailed among them about 
the characters of those they liked, and of the degree of favor that 
these deserved, but on the whole, so much was settled: 
They liked Charlemagne (800 - 814), of course. 
Otto the Great, ( 936 - 973 ), because he married Edith, sister 

to Athelstan of England, old 
friends through Freeman's Old 
English Histor3^ 

St. Henry II., (1000-1024), 
chiefly on account of the pic- 
ture of him, holding the little 
cathedral. 

Fred'k Barbarossa, (1152 - 
1178), because he is still asleep 
in a cave, with his long beard 
growing round him. 

Henry VI., (1190-1194). 

for being the Coeur de Lion 

man, that is, the emperor who 

first kept Richard (his uncle, 

by the way) in custody and 

afterwards allowed his ransom, 

on his way home from the 

Crusades. 

Frederick II., ( 1212 - 1250 ), was the emperor with whom Louis 

of Thuringia had to go off to the Crusades, leaving his wife, the saintly 

Elizabeth, on the Wartburg, which they were going to see in the 

spring. 

Henry VII., (1308-1313), was a great Ghibelline, went to Romff 
to be crowned, and brought back glory to the name , of German 
emperor. They liked his picture. 

Charles IV., (1347 - 1378), was the Golden Bull Emperor. 




HENRY VI. 



MR. HERVEY. 



175 



Maximilian, (1493-1519), was their great favorite, on account of 

the Dove in the eagle's nest. 

So they came to Charles V., (1529 - 1556), — 

Frederick the Great, (1440-1796),— 

But here their list became too mixed and complicated, as well as 

their opinions, us the number of charac- 
ters increased upon a more modern 

stage. 

They had brought with them a few 

books, which now proved most useful. 

Miss Yonge's Young Folks' Germany^ 

which they had read and re-read, always 

interested in the stories with which she 

has filled it, supplemented the history 

of Germany in Freeman's Historical 

Course^ which is less amusing., but 

concise and connected ; they gained 

much light upon the subject, now 

that, on the very scene of their lives, 

the old crusaders and emperors seemed 

like real people, and not a confused 

mass of puppets. History, without any 

priggishness or affectation, now became 

a pastime with them, rather than hard 

work ; they were alwaj^s wanting to 

diverge from the regular route of 

their journeys, to some place where somebody they had read of 

had done something. This would have made their course a somewhat 
crooked journey, if all their wishes had been carried out ; they had, 

therefore, to select, and leave mucli to the future. 

Before leaving Frankfort, Miss Lejeune and Mary, escorted by 

I^/Ii.. W , the consul, spent a day in going to Darmstadt, to see the 

famous Holbein Madonna, now conceded to be the real first picture 
of two which are so much alike that only a careful study, or compari- 
Bon of their photographs, shows the differences. The other, in the 




IIENIIV VJI. 



176 



A FAMILY FLIGHT, 



gallery at Dresden where they would see it by and by, was long 
considered to be the original, but at the great Holbein celebration, 
when all his pictures were collected in Dresden, tlie verdict of the 
judges was unanimously in favor of the Darmstadt picture as the 
original, and mosc critics consider the Dresden one to be only a 

copy by one of Holbein's scholars, 
although others think it was paint- 
ed later, by him. 

On arriving at Darmstadt, they 
first went to the picture gallery, 
and from there to the palace occu- 
pied by the Grand-duke. They 
were aamitted by a servant in liv- 
ery, to whom they said they came 
to see the Holbein picture. After 
waiting a few moments, while he 
went to ask admission for them, 
they were shown into a prettily 
furnished library. Crochet-work 
with the needle in it, just laid 
down, a letter on the desk, half- 
written, the ink not yet dry, 
showed that the family had but 
just left the room for the purpose 
of letting them see the picture, 
and would return as soon as they 
had left. The effect of the picture as part of the furniture of a liv- 
ing-room, instead of being in a stiff picture gallery, or unused palace 
hall, was charming; and it left a yerj pleasant impression on their 
minds of the royal family, with Holbein's lovely and benign Madonna 
as a constant companion during their daily life. 

This picture was painted by Holbein for the burgomaster Jacob 
Meyer, of Basle. According to a family tradition, the youngest son 
of the burgomaster, who was sick, even unto death, through the 
intercession of the Virgin was restored to his parents ; and they in grati- 




KAKL IV. 




— i^^^=«A^''^ — 



jews' quaktek, frankfokt. 



177 



MR HERVEY. 



tude, dedicated this offering to her. She stands on a pedestal in a 
richly ornamented niche ; over her long, fair hair, which falls down her 
shoulders to her waist, she wears a superb crown ; and her robe, of a 
dark, greenish-blue, is confined by a crimson girdle. For its purity, 
dignity, and peace, the face, once seen, haunts the memory. The child in 
her arms is generally supposed to 
be the infant Christ; some people 
have fancied that it might be in- 
tended for the little sick child 

recommended to her mercy. To 

the right of the Virgin, kneels the 

burgomaster Meyer with two of his 

sons, one of whom holds his little 

brother who is restored to health. 

On the left kneel four female 

figures, — of the mother, grand- 
mother, and two daughters. A.11 

these are portraits of the- real 

people. 

They noticed in the room a little 

paper-weight, with the words 

" Alice, from Victoria," which, with 

other little home-touches, brought 

more strongly to their minds than 

ever before, the fact that royal 

families are also real families, and 

that queens give little birthdR,y 

presents and mementos to their daughters, just the same as other people do. 
The princess, who used to live there, was the daughter of Queen 

Victoria. She married the present Duke of Hesse, who owns the 

picture, and they had several children ; and when one of the little 

children had diphtheria, like any good, loving mother, she insisted upon 

nursing her suffering little child until it got well. But the fatigue 

was too much for the mother; the disease entered her system, and 

she herself died two days afterward. This was several years ago. 




MAXIMILIASr. 



180 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



One day before they left Frankfort, Tommy, to his great delight, 
received a long letter from Mr. Hervey. It was from Hamburg and 
contained a photograph of a market-woman in the costume which is 
still somewhat worn there. 

Mr. Hervey was charmed with the bright, clean, busy town ; he de- 
scribed to the boys the broad streets on the Alster, which have houses on 
one side only, the other being open to the water, where against the solid 
stone embankment are boats, fastened by a ring, belonging to the 
families who live in these houses. It makes a lovely place to live. These 
sheets of water are most picturesque, and there are quantities of swans, 
that have been there, or their ancestors, for centuries, because a wealthy 
old lady made a bequest, by which they can be well taken care of. 

"Think of Beacon street in Boston," wrote Mr. Hervey, "if there 
were no houses on the water-side, and a broad esplanade, and pleasure- 
boats always at hand j and if Mrs. Chevenix would leave a bequest 
in her will to have Charles River always full of swans ! " 

Mr. Hervej had been to London since they parted from him, and 
came over from London to Hamburg in a steamer, sailing down the 
Thames, and crossing the German ocean. He found it a very pretty 
trip, and one that they would find interesting if it came in their way. 
He had sailed up the Elbe to Hamburg towards night, passing the 
pretty liitle island of Heligoland before dark. 




ilEL.IUULA.Nl>. 



WELMAB. ^^ 



CHAPTER XIX. 

WEIMAR. 



T-> H E Horaers stayed in Frankfort until after the first of Janoiary, and 
1 then, having by this time pretty well decided what towns m Ger- 
many they most wished to visit, or rather whieh places tliey were least 
Willi to give up, they passed the rest of the winter .n go.ng 
from one to another, always with some iixed object >n v.ew whether .t 
were a site of historic interest, a famous gallery, or even only one cele- 
brated picture. It wdl not do to give a precise account of each excur- 
sion nor to endeavor to keep the track of their time-table, tl.en- var.ous 
hotels, apartments and houses in Germany. We will only prck out the 
plums of their pudding, and leave the rest to the guide-books. Every- 
thing relating to nature and picturesque scenery, they tried to postpone 
until spring ; but winter travelling in Germany is not uncomfortable, and 
luckily the season was exceptionally mild. Their greatest drscomfort 
was the hot, u„-aired stuffiness of the railroad wagons,- the Germans 
havin. a deeply-rooted antipathy to open windows and draughts. Some- 
times, when there was no nicht-rauchen-Wagen to be had, the smoke of 
cigars in a small compartment with all the windows shut, was qu.te intol- 
erable ; but the Homers, great and small, were learning the true phdos- 
ophy of travel: to enjoy conveniences and not n.ind discomfort ; and, as 
we have said before, good digestion, and a wise attention to sensible and 
regular food, supplementing, or supported by, good breeding and amiable 
diLositions, secured for them the power of practicing this philosophy. 
Everywhere they won golden opinions of their fellow-trave ers, and ... 
lou<. trips became known as the •' liebenswiirdige Amerikauer than which 
no "praise can be found higher in the German tongue. LiehenswUrd^gls 
to be translated " amiable," but it means far more tha.i our word, e.ther 



182 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



from its innate force, or because tlie Germans attach more importance to 
the qualit}^ than do more emotional nations. 

Without, therefore, saying exactly how they got there, or how long 
they stayed in each place, we will note the chief things of interest they 
saw in the next three months; they were looking forward, as soon as 
the spring opened, to a week in Eisenach, for which they were 
determined to wait for lovely out-door weather. 

Now Miss Lejeune had once spent a whole winter in the small but 
celebrated town of Weimar. It was here that she had acquired her 
prowess in the language, and her fondness, often rebuked, for every form 
of sausage which is known to the German mind. It was on account of 
this that she was always ready to defend, and maintain with proofs, the 
excellence of the German cuisine, and the neatness of the German man- 
age ; — endless discussion, always without conversion on either side, and 
only to be broken off by the concession, 

" Well, 3^our experience of German families must have been very dif- 
ferent from mine." 

Miss Lejeune not only longed to see Weimar once more, but to renew 

her affectionate intercourse with 
the many friends she had made 
there ; so, while the aiaiii body 
of our little army passed on t< 
Leipsic, she stopped with Marj 
at Weimar. 

It was before they separated 
that, between Erfurt and Gotha 
they had an excellent glimpse of 
the Drei Gleichen castles, about 
which Mary roughly translated aloud this account, as they rode along, 
from a funny little German guide for Thiiringia : — 

" History mentions first the Margrave Eckbert II., of Thiiringia, as 
their owner. As he was opposed to Henry IV., this emperor beseiged 
his castle, in 1088, but in vain, for an attack from it forced him to a 
shameful retreat. Afterwards it came into the powerful family of ihe 
Counts von Gleichen, one of whom was Count Ernest, who, in 1237, took 




DEEI GLEICHEN. 



WEIMAR. 185 

the cross under Frederick II., but was imprisoned by the Saracens for 
Me ; but the sultan's daughter Melechsala freed him, because she loved 
him, and urged him to fly with her. He willingly consented, after he 
had convinced himself that without this step he should never regain his 
freedom; and, as both the Pope, and the countess, his spouse, accepted 
the situation, so was the double bond soon effected. The house at the 
foot of the berg is called the " Joy-valley," because the countess came 
here to meet her husband returning with his new companion, and they all 
three embraced each other full of joy." 

'* I believe that the tradition is that each wife lived in one of the 
castles by herself, and the count in the third," said Miss Lejeune. 

"Mamma!" exclaimed Bessie, *'that story is all in your Musaeus 
book, that we used to look at the pictures in so much, long before we 
knew any German. Do not you remember ? I do ; the very same name 
of Melechsala, and the pictures of Grand Cairo and Turks and Eastern 
things." 

" I remember the book perfectly," answered her mother, '•Musaeus'' 
Volksmdrchen, but I do not recollect that story." 

" It was a long story, and you never read us the whole of it. I dare 
say it was stupid, but I remember the pictures. I mean to look it up 
when we go home, because now I can read it myself." 

They had now reached the station at Weimar, about one mile from the 
town ; here they parted. 

Miss Augusta naturally felt so much at home that she did not hesitate 
thus to separate herself from the rest, but with Mary, who was delighted 
at this little escapade by themselves, she went at once to the Erb-prinzeu 
Hotel, where she found herself still remembered. 

Weimar is a more characteristic German town than Frankfort, and, 
indeed, than most of the large towns frequented by routine travellers. 

"All the time," wrote Mary to Bessie, "while aunt Gus is being 
liebeliswnrdig with her Germans, I am learning my way about Weimar. 
By the way, it is good to have my own Baedeker ! The little plan of the 
town is excellent, as we found at Frankfort. I must tell you about it, 
for you have no idea how pretty it is. From our hotel we look across 
the market-place to an old archway, which files of soldiers are going 



186 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



through constantly, and on the other side is a huge paved place, with the 
Schloss where the grand-duke lives, with a tall tower, and a clock that 
strikes hours and halves and quarters. The grand-duke's band was 
playing Tannhaiiser while I was dressing this morning. This palace turns 

its back upon the 
town, but looks 
forth upon a broad 
and lovely park, 
with the Ilm run- 
ning through it. It 
is wilder than Cen- 
tral Park, and full 
of little nooks and 
mossy corn e r s . 
Aunt Gus and I 
walked there Sun- 
day ; it was a warm, 
spring-like day, with 
the frost coming out 
of the ground. We 
straj^ed about the 
paths and plucked 
little daisies still in 
bloom, not great 
bumping ones, like 
ours, but delicate 
English daisies. 



" This m or nin g 

early aunt Gus called 

out to me, 'Look 

out of window, 

Mary ! ' and there 

I beheld the Platz, which has been as still as a desert before, 

all alive and swarming with the market, which comes twice a 

week. We went out and prowled about: it was so exactly like a scene 




STATUES OF GOETHE AND SCHILLEK AT WEIMAK. 




LEIPSIC: ST. NICHOLAS CHURCH. 



187 



WEIMAR. 



189 



on the stage, that when the band began to play on the balcony of the 
Rath-haus, we felt as if we were in an opera and must take attitudes and 
begin to sing. The women sat in long tows with queer things to sell, 
yarns and calico, real flowers and wreaths of dyed immortelles and paper 
roses, and fearful looking things to eat, some of them dipped up out of a 
barrel. Most of the women had live geese sitting by them, and there 
were a great many dogs. 

" Last evening we went to the opera and heard the Meister Singer, 
delightfully played and sung and acted, and before we saw ' Ein Lustspiel.' 
It is the original of Mrs. Walthrop's Boarders. Aunt Gus is surprised 




KATH-HAUS, LEIPSIC. 



to find the town much changed and built up with new houses 
since she was here." 

In Weimar they heard more of Goethe and Schiller, and saw the statue 
of the two which stands in the place before the theatre. Here also 
lived Wieland and Herder, and other men of literary fame, all of whom 
shared in the great days of Weimar, under the munificent and discrimi- 
nating Grand-duke Carl August, always referred to as the Great-Grand- 
duke, although his present successor is a patron of music and art, keeping 



190 A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

up the reputation of the little town for culture and aesthetic taste. The 
theatre is most excellent, and Miss Lejeune and Mar/ went often, for, as 
the performance begins as early as six and is often over by nine, they 
could do this without neglecting other invitations. 

Meanwhile the others passed several days in a very good hotel at 
Leipsic, sight-seeing, practicing tlieir German, and going through the 
Museum, where they chiefly enjoyed four beautiful landscapes by 
Calame, and where Mr. Horner found himself confronted by his favorite 
Napoleon, depicted forcibly by Delaroche in the sad moment of his fall 
at Fontainebleau. Mr. Horner and Philip devoted a long morning to a 
careful survey of the battle-field where culminated the triumph of the 
allied armies over their once invincible enemy. 

The famous battle of Leipsic lasted four days, beginning in the morn- 
ing of October 16, 1813. Until the 19th the French kept up their old 
renown, but in spite of all their efforts they were forced back, and at dawn 
on the 19th their retreat began. A large part of their army had not yet 
crossed the Elster when the only bridge open to them was, probably by 
mistake, blown up. Thousands of the French perished by drowning ; 
and upwards of fifteen thousand were made prisoners. 

A few hours afterwards the Emperor of Russia, King Frederick 
William of Germany, and the Emperor Francis of Austria, triumphantly 
entered Leipsic, and the deliverance of Germany from Napoleon was 
now secured. 

"While Philip and his father were thus engaged, Mrs. Horner indulged 
Bessie and Tommy in their favorite pursuit of wandering about the 
streets looking into shop windows, their nominal object being the head- 
quarters of the celebrated " Tauchnitz editions " of English books. It 
was with some difficulty they discovered the place, and then only to find 
to their disappointment, as has happened to many other inquiring trav- 
ellers, that the books there produced are not sold excepting to book- 
sellers. They then went back to the very book-shop where they had 
received the direction for finding the Tauchnitz place, and there bought 
several fresh numbers of this light and agreeably printed seiies, greatly 
wondering at the intricacies of tlie German mind, which had deterred 
this salesman from saving them the trouble of a futile pilgrimage. 



WEIMAR. 



191 



Leipsic is a clean and pretty town, but essentially modern, with no 
monuments of especial interest. The Horners thought the graceful 
Bpires of Halle, where they were left for two or three hours one day, 
made that a more picturesque and attractive place than the larger city. 




haiiLe: the market-place. 



192 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



CHAPTER XX. 



DRESDEN. 



ON an appointed day, the Homers were assembled in the large wait- 
ing-room of the modern-looking railway-station at Leipsic, and 
when the train was heard approaching they were allowed to come 
through the gates upon the platform, where they stood for a moment, 
bags and shawl-straps in hand, as the long row of wagons swept up and 
stopped. Mr. Horner and Bessie stood together, while at a iittie dis- 




DKESDEN : BRIDGE OVER THE ELBE. 



tance were Mrs. Horner with her two sons, — Philip manfully struggling 
with two large packages and an umbrella, Tommy almost hidden behind 
a huge bouquet, a parting present from the gracious landlady of their 
hotel. 

Miss Lejeune and Mary were looking out for them from the window 



DRESDEN. 195 

of their carriage, and could hardly wait for the Schaffner to throw open 
the door. 

" Here they are ! " " Here we are ! " all exclaimed. 

" Come in here, papa ! " cried Mary ; " we have plenty of room. We 
have guarded this wagon from the people like tigers ! " 

And in they huddled, overjoyed to meet again after a separation of ten 
long days. Shawl-straps were poked up on the netting over their heads. 
Papa's tall hat was there relegated, while a soft cap took its place on his 
head. 

'' Well, well," said Mrs. Horner, " to think that we should meet with- 
out any mistake ! I think we are born travellers." 

Now all began to talk at once and to tell their experiences, more 
desirous of being listened to than to listen ; but Miss Lejeune and Mary 
were fresher than the others, who had been going about all the morning 
for last things in Leipsic and packing : thus Mary held tne floor. 

" I wish you could have seen two American ladies who came from 
Weimar with us. We heard they had been spending the winter there, 
and all their friends came down to the station to meet them. Such a 
crowd, and such kissing and waving and cries of ' Auf wiedersehen ! ' I 
should think it was the whole German nation bidding them good-bye. 
One of them had a large bouquet ; just like yours. Tommy, that you 
have there, all in stiff circles with paper round it." 

" They talked German remarkably well," said Miss Lejeune. " I 
heard about them in Weimar ; there are five of them in all, but the 
others stayed behind." 

" Five women travelling together ; just fancy ! " exclaimed Mrs. 
Horner. " How they must quarrel ! " 

" I believe not," said Miss Lejeune, " though one would think so. 
They came out to improve themselves in languages, music, painting, 
and so on, and man sagt in Weimar they were very liebenswiirdig."' 

"Perhaps we shall fall in with them again somewhere," remarked 
Mr. Horner. 

" Oh, Mary ! " cried Philip, " I saw Cockywax ! He was in Leip- 
sic!" 

" Philip ! " said his mother reprovingly. She objected to this nick- 



IQQ A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

name which Philip had found for the young Mr. Buffers who was with 

them on the steamer. 

"I met him in the street," went on Philip, "and he seemed miglity 
glad to see me. He kept saying over and over again, ' What 
a delightful voyage we had ; how are your sisters ? Yes, that was a 
delightful voyage ! ' " 

Philip gave a pretty good imitation of the embarrassed, awkward 
manner of the jouth Buffers, which made his family laugh. Mary said: 

" Well, he is a nice boy, and I should like to see him again." 

"I told him our hotel," continued Philip, "and I think tliat if you 
had been with us he would have called. He considers you his patron 
Laint in the family." 

"Saint Mary of Cocky wax," said Bessie, adding scornfully, " I 
do not believe he considers me his patron saint." 

" I never observed that he took any particular notice of you," 
retorted Philip. 

" Come, come, children, do not quarrel," said the mamma. Bessie 
and Philip, or Jack, as they called him half the time, were excellent 
friends, but so near in age that they sometimes roughed each other. 

Soon they were approaching Dresden, as so often they had before 
drawn near large cities, in the glowing western light. The flowing 
river, with its ample bridges, makes a beautiful town of it, as well as 
the handsome buildings with which it is plentifully provided. 

In Dresden they remained some time, for there was much to see. 
They were established in one of the large hotels in the middle of 
the town, and for the first time joined the table d'hote dinner, in- 
stead of being supplied, as in Paris, in their own rooms. They 
found, for a change, some amusement in the variety of characters they 
thus met. The table held no more than twenty guests of different 
nationalities, among whom German was the least represented. In 
fact, the Horners congratulated themselves that tliey had secured 
some familiarity with German at the other towns they had visited, 
before coming to Dresden ; for it is so over-run with Englisli and 
Americans that, even in the pensions, their language is as much spoken 
as the native one. In the shops and streets Englisli is constantly 




MA.T>ONNA BE SAN SISTO 



DRESDEN. 



139 




ENAMEL FRAME IN THE GREEN VAULT. 



heard ; and, except that, from preference, they all, except Mrs. Hor- 
ner, chose to exercise their skill in talking German, they could have 
done perfectly well without a knowledge of it. 



200 A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

There was a party of second-rate English at their table, whose 
chief occupation consisted in staring, especially at the Homers. Very 
likely this was the first time they had seen civilized Americans, and 
that they were on the look-out for some traces of Indian manners and 
customs. As the Homers were perfectly well trained in the use 
of the knife and fork and other modern utensils, the starers found 
very little to gratify them ; but once Phil heard one of the daugh- 
ters say out quite loud to another, " She has eaten her push-piece 1 " 
Phil turned round to look at Bessie, on whom the four eyes had 
been glued. She was just finishing her fish, and had ended, very 
improperly, by putting the piece of bread in her mouth which she had 
been using. This was ever after called the " push-piece " by the Hom- 
ers ; and these people went by the title of the Push-pieces, whenever 
they were referred to ; but they never saw them again, for the}? left 
the very next day. 

The Grosse-Garten was already attractive on some of the spring 
days in the end of February. The Green Vault amazed some of 
them with a mass of jewelry, mosaic, crowns, and other splendors ; but 
the Zwinger, on account of the celebrated picture-gallery it contains, 
was the place to which they devoted the most time, and where 
Mary and Miss Lejeune continued their study of the old masters. 

Naturally the first picture they sought was the other Holbein Ma- 
donna ; and Mary thought she could remember that the Darmstadt 
one was superior in execution and intention ; but so much might be 
due to having seen that first, she was willing to allow that her 
judgment was not worth much. 

Mrs. Horner took intense pleasure in the renowned Madonna di 
San Sisto, by Raphael. It had been, through engraving and photo- 
graph, her favorite picture for years. She was willing to sit before 
the large picture, lending herself to a kind of dream as she gazed 
npon it, thus rather irritating the more fastidious judgment of Miss 
Lejeune, who no longer concedes the first place among artists to 
Raphael. 

Miss Lejeune, however, was capable of deviating from the narrow 
paths of the Pre-Raphaelites, for she confessed to considering the 



DRESDEN". 203 

Magdalen of Battoni, also in the Dresden gallery, one of the most 
beautiful pictures in the world ; and this is decidedly modern. 

In this gallery Mary renewed her search for the masters of the 
old schools. She lingered over the oldest pictures, seeking to learn 
in what their charm consisted, and rejoiced to find that she really 
could like them, and that affectation would consist in calling them 
"horrid old things," which man}^ young Americans feel called upon 
to do to avoid the very imputation. 

It was very odd to the Horners to come in Saxony upon a 
royal family and royal state, playing at king and queen in a baby- 
house, as Bessie called it. Although, as they remembered, by the 
union of Germany, Kaiser William was declared emperor of the 
whole of it, in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, in 1871, the kings, 
grand-dukes, and dukes of the uniting parts retain all their titles and 
their ancient rights, something like the separate government of our 
States under the President ; thus, at Weimar, the grand-duke holds 
his own court, and receives an ambassador from the imperial court at 
Berlin. At Dresden they often saw the royal family and the king 
and queen of Saxony driving out in state. The royal family of 
Saxony are Catholics ; and Passion Week, which took place while 
the Horners were in Dresden, was observed with much solemnity. 
The shops were closed, the churches were open ; the services were 
very impressive, even to children of Puritan descent. On Easter 
Sunday, especially, the cathedral ceremony was long and solemn, 
but to their minds, in spite of the fine music, tedious. 

But all Germany defers to the glory of the Emperor William, and 
the Horners heard so much of the beloved Kaiser that they longed 
for Berlin, where he was to be seen in all his splendor. 

"But," said Bessie, "he is only a parvenu kind of emperor. I do 
not consider him a descendant of our Barbarossa at all. I think the 
Austrian emperors are more like that." 

" True," said her father, " but you must remember that Francis 
IT. formally resigned the imperial crown, in 1806." 

" Because your favorite Napoleon frightened him to death," resumed 
Bessie. " I consider that to be the real end of German history, 



204 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



just like the end of a novel ; and this emph-e, which the Kaiser has 
started, is not so old a nation as the United States." 

" Do not say that in Berlin, or, if you do, do not use your best 
German, or you may be arrested for seditious sentiments," said Mr. 
Horner good-humoredly. 

Spring was reall}^ come, and in the first tender days, when every- 
thing is pink aud yellow, and soft vague green, before the leaves 
have hidden the grace of the branches, the Horners spent a week 
in "Saxon Switzerland," which is the name the country goes by 
about Dresden. They stayed at a pleasant little inn at Schandau, 
close upon the river Elbe, and from here made excursions, as the 
weather allowed, chiefly on foot, to the points of interest about them. 

This return to out-door life and to the attractions of nature, was pleas- 
ing to all of them. They rejoiced greatly when the first of May ap- 
proached, and they broke up camp in Dresden for a few weeks in beautiful 
Eisenach. " I declare," exclaimed Bessie, " I wish never to see a church 
or a picture-gallery again. I want woods and castles and cataracts." 

" And no dates and dynasties," added Tommy. 




SAJCON SMVlTZRB.LA.NLt: THE, PKKKlSCHTIdOJi. A COLOSSAL NATUKAL AKCU. 



SAINT ELIZABETH. SOS 



CHAPTER XXI. 

SAINT ELIZABETH. 

IN the year 1207, Andreas II. wa,s> king of Hungary, and Hermann, 
the patron of the Minnesingers, was landgrave of Thiiringia, and 
held his court in the castle of the Wartburg. 

In that year, the queen of Hungary had a daughter, whose birth 
was announced by many blessings to her country and kindred ; for 
the wars which had distracted Hungary ceased, and peace and good- 
will reigned, at least for a time ; the harvests had never been so 
abundant : crime, injustice, and violence had never been so infrequent 
as in that fortunate year. Even in her cradle, Elizabeth showed 
that she was the favorite of heaven. She was never known to weep 
from crossness, and the first words she distinctly uttered, were those 
of prayer; at three years old, she was known to give away her toys 
and take off her rich dresses to bestow them on tlie poor; and all the 
land rejoiced in her early wisdom, goodness, and radiant beauty. 

These things being told to Hermann of Thiiringia, he was filled 
with wonder, and exclaimed : 

"Would to God that this fair child might become the wife of my 
son ! " and thereupon he sent an embassy to the king of Hungary, 
to ask the young princess in marriage for his son. Prince Louis, 
bearing rich presents. His messengers were hospitably received, and 
returned to the Wartburg with the little princess, who was then four 
years old. The king, her father, bestowed on her a cradle and a bath, 
each of fine silver, and of wondrous workmanship ; and silken robes, 
curiously embroidered with gold, and twelve noble maidens to attend 
upon her. 

When the Princess Elizabeth arrived at the castle of the Wartburg, 



206 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 




at Eisenach, she was received with infinite rejoicings, and tlie next 
day she was solemnly betrothed to the young Prince Louis ; and the 
two children being laid in the same cradle, they smiled and stretched 
out their little arms to each other, which thing pleased the Landgrave 

Hermann and h i s 
wife Sophia, and all 
the ladies, knights, 
and minstrels who 
were present regard- 
ed it as an omen of 
a blessed and happy 
marriage. 

From this time the 
children were not 
separated ; they 
grew up together, 
and every day thej'' 
loved each other 
more and more. 
Louis soon perceived that his Elizabeth was quite unlike all the other 
children in the court ; all her infant thoughts seemed centred on 
heavenl}^ things ; her very sports were heavenly, as though the angels 
were her playmates ; but charity and compassion for the suffering poor, 
formed, so to speak, the staple of her life. Everything that was given 
to her she gave away, and she collected what remained from the 
table, and saved from her own repasts every scrap of food, which she 
carried in a basket to the poor children of Eisenach. 

As long as the Landgrave Hermann was alive, no one dared t^ 
oppose the young Elizabeth in these exercises of devotion and charity, 
but he died when she was about nine years old, and Louis sixteen, 
and Elizabeth having thus lost in him a father and protector, became a 
forlorn stranger in her adopted home ; for the Landgravine Sophia dis- 
liked her, her future sister, the Princess Agnes openly derided her, 
and the other ladies of the court treated her witli great neglect. 
Meantime, Louis, her betrothed, was watching her closely. He did 



DIE WABTBUKG BEI EISENACH. 




THifi wartbubg: castlk court. 



207 



SAINT ELIZABETH. 200 

not openly show her any attention, and had some doubts whether she 
were not too far above him in her austere, though gentle piety. But 
often when she suffered from the unkindness of others he would 
secretly comfort her, and dry up her tears. And when he returned 
home after an absence, he would bring her some little gift, either 
a rosary of coral, or a little silver crucifix, a chain, or a golden pin, 
or a purse, or a knife ; and when she ran out to meet him joyfully, 
he would take her in his arms and kiss her right heartily. 

It happened on one occasion, that Louis went on a long hunting 
excursion w:th some neighboring princes, and was so busy with his 
guests, that when he returned he brought her no gift, nor did he 
salute her as usual. Those courtiers who were the enemies of 
Elizabeth, marked this well ; she saw their cruel joy, and in the 
bitterness of her grief, she confided it to her old friend Walther, 
who had brought her, an infant, from Hungary, who liad often 
nursed her in his arms, and who loved her as his own child. A 
few days afterward, this Walther, as he attended the landgrave to 
the chase, asked him what were his intentions with regard to the 
Lady Elizabeth : 

"For," said he, "it is thought by many that you love her not, and 
that you will send her back to her father." 

On hearing these words, Louis, who had been lying on the ground 
to rest, started to his feet, and throwing his hand toward the lofty 
Inselberg which rose before them, exclaimed : 

" Seest thou yon high mountain ? If it were all of pure gold from 
the base to the summit, and if it were offered to me in exchange for 
my Elizabeth, I would not give her for it. No ; I love her only, and 
I will have my Elizabeth ! " Then from the purse which hung at 
his belt, he drew forth a little silver mirror, curiously v/rought, sur- 
mounted with an image of the Saviour. " Give her this," he added, 
"as a pledge of my troth." 

Walther hastened to seek Elizabeth with the gift and loving message. 
She smiled an angel smile and kissed the mirror, reverently saluting 
the image of Christ. About a year afterward their marriage was 
solemnized with great feasts and rejoicings which lasted three days. 



ilO A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

Louis was at this time in his twentieth year. He was tall, with fail 
hair and blue eyes, and a noble brow. He was of a princely temper, 
resolute, yet somewhat bashful ; and he was faithful to his Elizabetli 
to the hour of his death. 

Elizabeth was not quite fifteen. Her beauty, though still immature, 
was that of her race and country ; a tall, slender figure, a clear brown 
complexion, large, dark eyes, and hair black as night ; her eyes glowed 
with an inward light of love and charity, and were often moistened 
with tears. 

She loved her husband tenderlj^ but she carried into her married 
life the austere piet}^ which had distinguished her from her infancy : 
she rose in the night to pray, kneeling on the bare ground ; she wore 
hair-cloth next her tender skin, and would scourge herself, and cause 
her ladies to scourge her. Louis sometimes remonstrated, but he 
secretly thought that he and his people were to benefit b}^ the sanctity 
of his wife. She was always cheerful and loving to him, dressed to 
please him and often rode to the chase with him. When he was 
away, she put on the dress of a widow till his return, when she would 
again array herself in her royal mantle, and meet him with a joyous 
smile. 

The most famous story about her is that one day, in the absence 
of her husband, during a severe winter, she left her castle with a single 
attendant, carrying in the skirts of her robe a supply of meat, bread, 
and eggs to a poor family ; and as she was descending the frozen and 
slippery path, her husband, returning from the chase, met her bending 
under the weight of her charitable burden. 

" What dost thou here, my Elizabeth ? " he said ; " let us see what 
thou art carrying away," and she, confused and blushing to be so 
discovered, pressed her mantle to her bosom, but he insisted, and 
opening her robe, he beheld only red and white roses, more beautiful 
and fragrant than any that grow on this earth, even at summer-tide, 
and it was now the depth of winter ! Then he was about to embrace 
his wife, but looking in her face, he was overawed by a supernatural 
glory which seemed to emanate from every feature, and he dared not 
touch her ; he bade her go on her way and fulfill her mission. 



SAIMT ELIZABETH. 



211 



In the year 1226, the hindgrave Louis accompanied his lord, the 
emperor Frederick II., into Italy. In the same year a terrible famine 
afflicted all Germany, and Thiiringia suffered most of all. Elizabeth 
distributed to the poor all tlie corn in the royal granaries. Every 
day a certain quantity of bread was baked, and she herself served 
it out to the people, 
who thronged around 
the gates of the castle, 
sometimes to the num- 
ber of nine hundred ; 
uniting prudence with 
charit}^ she so ari-anged 
that each person had 
his just share, and so 
husbanded her resources 
that they lasted through 
the summer ; when 
harvest time came 
round, she sent all the 
people to the fields pro- 
vided with scythes and 
sickles, and to every man 
she gave a shirt and a 
pair of shoes. When 
the plague followed the 
famine, she founded two 
hospitals in Eisenach ; 
went herself from one 
to the other, ministering 
to the inmates with a 
cheerful countenance. 

In the following year, all Europe was armed for the third crusade ; 
and I<ouis must join the banner of his emperor. He took the cross, 
with many other princes and nobles at Hildesheim ; but on his way 
thence to Wartburg, he took off his cross and put it into his purse, 




THE PAKTING. 



212 A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

till he should have prepared his wife for the pain of jjarting, — but 
manj'^ days passed away, and he had not courage to tell her. One 
evening, she playfully unbuckled his purse, seeking alms for her poor ; 
she drew forth the cross. Too well she knew the sign ; the truth 
burst upon her, and she swooned at his feet. 

They parted with tears. The landgrave pursued his journey toward 
Palestine, but at Otranto he was seized with a fever and died. He 
commanded his knights and counts to carry his body home, and to 
defend his Elizabeth and his children with their life-blood, if need 
were, from all wrong and oppression. 

But now the eldest brother of Louis, Henry, wickedly took possession 
of his lands, and banished the widow and children from the Wartburg. 

It was winter-time, and the snow lay upon the ground, when this 
daughter of kings was seen slowly descending the rough path, carrjdng 
a new-born baby in her arms; her women followed with the three 
children. Henry had forbidden any one to harbor her, resolved to 
drive her away from his territory; so she wandered about with her 
children till she at last found refuge in a poor inn; and afterward 
supported herself by spinning wool. 

When the knights returned to Thiiringia, bearing the remains of 
Louis, they were filled with indignation at what had happened. They 
obliged Henry to be contented with the title of regent only, gave 
young Hermann, the son of Louis and Elizabeth, his father's place, 
and endowed Elizabeth with the city of Marbourg, whither she retired 
with her daughters. 

And here .she might have ended her days tranquilly, but for the 
severe tyranny of the priest Conrad, her confessor, who made of her 
life one long penance. Finally he dismissed eveli. her two women, 
who had served her faithfully. She was said to be surrounded by 
celestial visitants -, that the blessed Virgin herself deigned to converse 
with her, and she gradually faded away, til', laid upon her last bed, 
she turned her face to the wall and began to sing hymns with a 
most sweet voice. When her strength failed, she uttered the word 
"silence," and so died. She had just completed her twenty-fourth 
-ear, and had survived her husband just three years and a half. 



SAINT ELIZABETH. 21o 

No sooner had Elizabeth breathed her last breath than the people 
surrounded the couch, tore away her robe and cut off her hair for 
relics. Four years after her death she was canonized as a saint, by 
the Pope ; and her shrine, in the church of Saint Elizabeth, at 
Marbourg, has been venerated and visited ever since. 




FRIEDRICH II. PUTTING ON THE CROWN OF JERUSALEM. 



414 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



CHAPTER XXII. 



EISENACH. 



SUCH is the charming story of the holy Elizabeth, told by Miss 
Lejeune as they came towards Eisenach, about the middle of 
May. The spring was fairly open, the weather had begun to be 

mild and love- 
ly ; the land- 
scape through 
w h i c li the 
Horners were 
passing was de- 
liciously fresh 
with delicate 
green tints. 
All promised 
them a delight- 
ful country 
week. 

The station 
was reached. 
The family 
climbed into 
droschkys, the 
baggage fol- 
lowed, and 
they rumbled 
along over the 
rough stone 




"the storks ark here:" 



CKIEI) TOMMY. 



EISENACH. 



215 



pavement, under the old arch of the Nicholas Gate, and found 
themselves in the quaintest and most picturesque German town 
they had yet seen. Their hotel was on one side of a sort of 
square which was ail up-hill ; the red-tiled and gabled roof of 
each house made a step up from its lower neighbor ; the houses 
were painted different colors, and gaily-striped awnings increased 
the variety of tint. Behind and above all, exactly like the back- 
scene at the theatre, rose the Wartburg, with the pretty castle 
on its summit, near and yet far, for while it seemed to overhang 
them, it still looked small with distance. When they arrived, it 
was toward evening, and the castle glowed with pink light and 
violet shadows. It was an ideal castle, just fit for the home of 
Saint Elizabeth. Every Hor- 
ner, old and young, was full 
of rejoicing. They had a good 
German supper, and went to 
bed, in their funny German 
beds, with their heads full of 
anticipation. The clock in the 
market-square hard by, struck 
the hours and the quarter hours 
as they were falling off to sleep. 
They felt as if they had been 
put back by magic into tlie thirteenth century, or thereabouts. 

The next day the weacher did not disappoint them ; and they 
started early to make the ascent of the mountain, Mrs. Horner 
and Miss Lejeune mounted on mild donkeys with long ears and 
wise faces, the rest on foot, with stout sticks to rest on. 

A short walk through the town brought them to the actual 
ascent, of less than quarter of a mile, on a well-made path. It 
is steep, but winding, and not more fatiguing than the many 
steps to views on the top of towers, to which the younger Hom- 
ers had now become accustomed. Tommy, of course, started at a 
rapid pace, and distanced them all ; they soon found him sitting on 
a stone, with a red face, and out of breath, after which he kept 




THK ANNATHAI. AT EISENACH. 



216 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



nearer the party. This was a straggling one ; tlie donkeys, who 
had no great enthusiasm about reaching the top, were inclined to 
take it easy; and Mr. Horner was equally in favor of a leisurely 
pace. 

" Look at that party of Germans, Philip," he said. " They put a 
system into it. They do a certain 
distance, and then they stand still 
and breathe a few moments, before 
starting again." 

" Yes, but papa," replied Jack, 
" one would think we were ascend- 
ing Popocatapetl, to make such a 
time of it ! " and he started off on 
a spurt. 

In fact it is but a trifling climb, a 
little over six hundred feet, and 
the views from the mountain side 
are so pretty as to afford a good 
excuse for resting pauses. 

The Wartburg was built in 1067. In the eight centuries which 
have passed over it since much of it had gone to ruin ; but the 
present grand-duke of Saxe-Weimar has restored the castle as 
nearly as possible to its original state ; so that, while its founda- 
tions are very ancient, the decorations are excessively modern, but 
executed in a spirit so faithful to tradition that it is like looking 
at a bran-new piece of antiquity. 

The life of Saint Elizabeth is illustrated by a series of modern 
frescoes; and the lives of various landgraves are made the subject 
of another series, of which the favorite of the Homers explains 
the name of the castle : 

Landgrave Louis the Springer came one day while he was chasing a stag, to the top of 
this mount; astonished at the lovely view, the thought arose in him here to build a castle, 
and he is said to have exclaimed, 

"Wart, Berg, du soUst eine Burg werden ! " — "Wait, mount, thou art to be a castle." 
The tradition says that the name Wartburg originated from these words. 




v\* !''r X. 







ISABELLE OF PORTUOAL, WIFE OF CHARLES V. 



217 



EISENACH. 



219 



The VVartburg is the place where Luther found protection after 
the Diet of Worms. When Charles V. was elected emperor, Luther 
and his party hoped he would declare himself in favor of their views 
for reforming the Church. The Papal Legate, on the other hand, 
wanted the emperor to take measures against Luther at once. When 
he held his first diet, or assembly, at Worms, he sent for Luther, and 
tried to make him retract his heresies, so called ; but Luther would not. 
He allowed him to go away in safety, but immediately issued an 
edict condemning him as a here- 
tic. So Frederick of Saxon}^ who 
was a friend of Luther, had him 
waylaid and seized, like a pris- 
oner, and carried to the Wart- 
burg ; but it was really to get him 
out of the way of his enemies. 
He stayed there almost a year, 
and it was there he wrote his 
translation of the New Testament. 
His room is shown, very little 
changed. The ink-spot on the wall 
has been painted out, where it 
was said he threw his inkstand at 
the devil. Perhaps it was only a 
fly that came and bothered him. 

The Horners spent a long day 
upon the Wart Berg^ examining 
the Burg^ enjoying the lovely views 
from the windows, and the still re- 
maining portions of the ancient 
castle as much as the modern pictures, and the legends of the guide. 
They found a very good lunch at the restaurant on the mountain, 
and came back to their hotel, tired but happy, for a good dinner. 

Mary and Philip went up there the very next day, on foot, and 
Mary took her sketching things. She was not very skillful, but 
very persevering, and her modest little book was gradually getting 




CHAKL,ES V. 



220 A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

filled with many a sketch which she enjoyed afterwards, as recall- 
ing not onl}' the place, but the mood, in which it was made. 

On this second day, Mrs. Horner rested, while tiie others wrote 
letters, made short sallies into the town, and enjoyed tlie band in 
the market-place at noon, when all the inhabitants of Eisenach 
turned out and strolled about. 

One day was spent in wandering about the paths and climbing 
the rocks in the Anna-thai. They took a little boy for a guide, 
who carried an ample basket of lunch, so they need not come back 
till late. The Anna-thai is a narrow ravine ; the wildest part of it 
is called the Drachen-schlucht, and here the steep sides are covered 
with moss and ferns, and wet with trickling moisture. It was a 
very warm day, so that the damp and coolness were most agreeable ; 
though Mrs. Horner mentioned the word "rheumatism," she was 
immediately suppressed. 

The Anna-tha. is not on a grand, imposing scale ; it is simply very, 
very pretty, and something like the ravines in the White Mountains. 
The paths have been cared for and cleared of underbrush, but not too 
much " fixed up." On a huge rock at the end of an opening is 
to be seen a large dark letter A, marked upon the stone in honor 
of a visit to the spot by Anna, queen of Holland, the mother 
of the late grand-duchess of Weimar. 

There are similar letters like this A in famous picturesque places 
through Germany, put up to commemorate the presence of great per- 
sonages. They mar the landscape less than the sprawling adver- 
tisements, such as " Break of Day Bitters," which disgrace the 
scenery in America ; and their intention at least is more aesthetic 
and in harmony with nature. 

The Horners had what we call " a real nice time," at Eisenach. 
They settled down as it was their custom, and each one went upon 
his way, according to his own sweet will. Their German was good 
enough now to serve. Tommy made friends with the excellent land- 
lady, and became initiated in the plucking of chickens and skinning 
of hares. 

They went to the old church, and enjoyed the simple service, 



EISENACH. 



221 



and the serious faces of the congregation. The service in the 
churches of Germany, even where it is Catholic, seems more earnest 
and more Protestant than that of the cathedrals of Southern 
Europe. Protestantism matches both the climate and the turn of 




LUTHER IN THE CELL. 



thought of the German people. It is as if Luther had left his 
stamp in the very shrines where the reformed religion is not ac- 
knowledged. 

Charming weather, pleasant drives, and simple, quiet life made 



222 A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

their visit to Eisenach a memorable one. The children found traces 
here, as elsewhere, of their favorite, or detested kings and emperors, 
and in connection with Luther, learned more of Charles V., and 
his wife Isabelle. 

There is a palace at Eisenach interesting as the home, for a long 
time, of the duchess of Orleans, the wife of that duke of Orleans 
who was killed by a fall from his carriage in 1842. He was the 
son of Louis Philippe, then reigning, so that he was his heir to 
the throne, and by his death his son became the heir apparent. 
His widow, the mother, was a German princess. She devoted her- 
self to the education of the young prince, and, after the abdication 
of Louis Philippe, she came to Eisenach, accepting an invitation of 
the grand-duke of Weimar, who was her uncle. Here she lived, 
honorably fulfilling her duties as a mother and a Christian, and 
maintaining the claims of her son, whom she long cherished the 
hope of seeing on the throne of France. When she saw his pros- 
pects blasted by the success of Louis Napoleon, disappointment 
preyed upon her mind, her health failed, and she died while on a 
visit to England, in 1858. 

Her story is a sad one, and led the young Horners to revert 
once more to the eventful ups and downs of the princes of France- 
This son of hers was called Louis Philippe Robert, Comte de 
Paris, and heir to the throne of the Bourbon familv. 



A BOMB. SS& 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

A BOMB. 

" Berlin, May 16th, 1881. 
" My Dear Mr. Horner : — What are your plans ? Perhaps you have not any. What 
do you say to Norway? I think I shall start for the midnight sun and way-stations, 
about the first of June, and I need not say that it will be far pleasanter for me if you 
decide to join me with your party. A month is enough to devote to Norway, and I think 
Mrs. Horner and the young ladies would enjoy the trip. Let me hear from you at once. 
"Truly yours, Clarence Hervey." 

THIS letter burst like a bomb at the Homers' breakfast-table, 
one day at Eisenach. They had no more thought of goino- 
to Norway than they had of going to Japan ; and the midnight 
sun had entered nito their plans as little as the pyramids at Cairo. 

" How exactly like Hervey ! " exclaimed Mr. Horner irritably. 
The idea disturbed the tenor of his thoughts somewhat roughly. 
Their month at Eisenach had been very pleasant. Tlie fields were 
full of wild flowers, and every day the children came in with their 
hands full. It was a healthy sort of out-door life that they did not 
like to think of leaving ; and yet the time was coming when they 
must move on. Their rooms were already engaged at Berlin, and 
for some time the wise heads of the party had been thinking about 
their future course, consulting guide-books and maps, in order to 
lay out the plan for their summer months; but the children had 
but little part in the practical discussion of such things. 

Mr. Horner had some affairs to attend to in Antwerp, sooner or 
later; one plan had been to spend the month of June in Holland. 
Norway was a wholly new suggestion. 

"Mr. Hervey was always talking about Norway on the voyage," 
said Mary, " do not you remember ? " 



224 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



" I think he meant to go to Norway when he left America," 
said Miss Lejeune, " only he never makes plans. He told me that 
he hoped to go some time ; and he had all kinds of Norway 

Murray's and other 
guides with him, that 
a fiiend of his hand- 
ed over to him who 
had made the trip." 
" How I should 
like to go ! " ex- 
claimed Mary. " I 
always wanted to 
see the midnight 
sun." 

*' I do not care 
half so much for 
Norway as for Eu- 
ropean cities," de- 
clared Philip. 

" Do not you ? " 
replied Mary. " Oh, 
I do ! and then we 
have seen so many 
cities." 

" I wonder what 
it is like," ex- 
claimed Bessie. " Let's get the Baedeker and see." 

" But we have no guide-book that will tell," said Mary. 
" ' Northern Germany ' says nothing about Norwa3\" 

" Think of seeing real Norsemen and vikings ! " exclaimed Bes- 
sie ; " I hope we shall go ! " 

" Rubbish," replied Phil, " the vikings are all dead, and there are 
nothing but stupid Swedes and Norwegians, like that Emma we had, 
who could not speak any English." 

While the cliildren were thus chattering without any responsibil- 




WILD FLOWERS. 



A BOMB. 227 

ity, the three older people remained silent, but each was busily 
thinking, and weighing the subject internally. 

It was after the young ones had scattered to their out-of-doors 
pursuits that a grave consultation was held. Miss Lejeune took out 
her interminable knitting, Mr. Horner lighted his cigar, and Mrs. 
Horner, wrapping a light shawl about her shoulders, leaned back 
in an American chair, as they call a rocking-chair in Europe, and 
rocked gently as they talked. 

" Well, what do we think of this Norway plan?" demanded Mr. Horner. 

More than one council was needed before any decision was 
reached ; and several letters were exchanged with Mr. Hervey ; the 
verdict was that they had better come to Berlin, and talk it over 
with him. This occasioned no change in their plan, for it was quite 
time for them to leave Eisenach. The only difference was that 
now their quiet life was broken up, and they no longer cared for 
their country pursuits. When the time for leaving a place has 
come, there is an end to the enjoyment of it. Unsettled feelings 
take the place of satisfaction. The last few days in a place are 
always uncomfortable ; as Phil expressed it, " The bottom has come 
out, and there is no more fun." 

Besides, they w^re all in a hurry to see their dear Mr. Hervey 
again ; and Tommy was longing to behold the emperor of Germany 
in all his glorj^ They bade good-bye to Eisenach friends, especially 
to a little family of children and dolls, with whom Bessie and 
Tommy had become very intimate. 

So to Berlin they went, and to the hotel where Mr. Hervey had 
his room. He came to wait for them at the station, and the meet- 
ing was a very joyous one. 

They had a merry and rather noisy dinner the first evening, 
for every Horner wished to tell Mr. Hervey, in his or her own 
way, everything which had happened to them since they left him 
in Paris. It was the children's occasion ; for the parents thought 
it was hopeless to try to get a word in edgewise, and so they 
allowed the young tongues to run freely; only Mrs. Horner faintly 
murmured once or twice. 



228 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



" Not quite so loud, Tommy." 

The end of manj^ conferences was, as it was very apt to be, that 
Mrs. Horner had her own way. She was so quiet and gentle that 
an outside observer would not suppose that she was the general 
in command of the part}^ ; but her ideas were always so excellent 
tliat her husband invariably sur- 
rendered to them, and so did Miss 
Lejeune, although in the present 
case she demurred at first. 

Mrs. Horner's plan was to di- 
vide the party ! When she first 
proffered it the others looked 




LiESblK S ri.AVMAXl!;!5. 



aghast; but her reasons were ready. She thought there were alto- 
gether too many for Norway, "where," she said, "I believe you 
have to ride in little carriages all by yourself. It will not do 



A BOMB. 



22* 




NOKWEGIAX CARRIAGE. 



to have a long string of Homers all across the country, from the 
North Cape to Copenhagen." She told her husband privately that 
she thought the burden of the party would rest too heavily on Mr. 
Hervey, who would be the natural guide, as he had studied up the 
subject. Mr. Horner assented to this. Indeed, his chief objection 
to the phin was, 
that it imposed 
such an army 
on Mr. Hervey. 

" Yes," con- 
tinued Mrs. 
Horner, " this 
is really the 
best plan. If 
you, Augusta, 
will chaperon 
th§ party that 

goes, I think I will not go myself, but will form a camp some- 
where with the rest of the children. We shall be perfectly com- 
fortable and happy, and indeed I shall like it much better than so 
much sea-travel. I will keep Tommy; and, Mr. Hervey, you may 
choose, of the others, which you will take." 

Mr. Hervey did not exactly choose ; but different reasons now 
settled the division of the forces. Mr. Horner stayed with his 
wife, and, strange to say, Philip preferred to be left behind. There 
was something manly in this; he did not like to desert his mother; 
besides, he did not care so much for scenery as for things and 
people. Both the girls might as well go, as they could share the 
same room. 

As for Tommy, no one dared to break to him the news that 
he was to remain behind, and finally Mr. Hervey begged so hard 
to take him that Mrs. Horner yielded, and Tommy never knew that 
the first plan had not included him. Mrs. Horner was reluctant; 
but Mr. Hervey came and sat by her, and took her hand, saying, 
"Now. Mrs. Horner, you know that vou keep Tommy because you 



230 A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

think that he will be a torment to me. Look me ni the eyes, and 
say, honestly, that this is the case." 

Mrs. Horner laughed, blushed, looked up and said, " That is the 
case ! " 

" Ver}' well. Now hear me solemnly affirm and assert that I want 
him to go with us to Norway." 

And so it was settled that Tommy should go. 

Miss Lejeune, who usually made all their plans, had singularly 
little to say about this one. She assented very readily to the charge 
of the girls, but declared herself willing to be left behind, if that 
were considered best. Of course this was not thought of for an 
instant; and, when it was decided, she lent herself to the scheme 
with her usual alacrity. 

After these tedious discussions were over and the thing was 
settled, the Homers applied themselves to sight-seeing in Berlin, for 
while they were still uncertain what was to happen to them, they 
had done little else than speculate upon the future. 

Mrs. Horner may have been secretly a little sad, to find her brave 
proposal for a division so successful ; but she said nothing of this, 
and averred that the month of separation would be short. Mr. 
Horner was relieved of the responsibility of engineering his family 
through a difficult region ; and he found, moreover, that his pres- 
ence in Antwerp was really important, on account of the affairs of 
his firm. 

Bessie was sorry to part with Jack, but consoled herself with 
thinking she could write to him, and hear from him. 

" It will be the same," she added, " as if we all went to both 
places at once, for we can tell each other all about them." 

They packed industriously, for, as usual, all their possessions 
were scattered, far and wide, about their rooms at the li3tel. It 
was now necessary to exercise more than ordinary thought about 
their luggage, because in Norway it is best to be as lightly burdened a.* 
possible. The smallest trunks were now emptied and put at the dis- 
position of the Norwegians. A double valise sufficed for both Bessie 
and Mary. Miss Lejeune's ample trunk was replaced by a modest hat- 





MONUMENT OF VICTOKY, BEKLIN. 



231 



A BOMB. 



233 



box ; and Tommy's things were destined for a corner of Mr. Hervey's 
portmanteau. It was really very good-natured of this gentleman to 
assume the care of the boy ; but he was wholly in earnest about 
it. This modest array of boxes was supplemented by manifold wraps 
in shawl-straps. 




A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



BERLIN. 



THE capital of Germany is a handsome city, and the Germans 
are justly proud of it, and " Unter den Linden " is a distinguished 
avenue, although the lime-trees which give it this odd and pretty 
name, are not the noblest specimens of their kind. It is remarkable 
for its width, and for the fine buildings and gay shops with which 
it is lined. 

Berlin is comparatively modern; it owes its existence, as a city of 
importance, to the uncle of Frederick the Great, who, having created 
a kingdom, required a capital for it. The great Frederick, whose pas- 
sion, like that of Louis XIV., was for building and architecture, adorned 
it with new buildings, and enriched it with works of art. The present 
emperor has the ambition, shared by all the Germans, to make Berlin 
the finest city in the world. 

It lacks, however, the antiquity of Paris, and with it, much of the 
charm of historical association. 

The Homers were in Berlin ten da5'^s or a fortnight, and at a lovely 
season of the year, but unfortunately, their usual good luck in weather 
deserted them. It rained continuously, almost all the time, with 
that perseverance which the heavens sometimes show even in leafy 
June. All the excursions they took had to be in closed droschkys 
or under umbrellas, and the only day the sun was out they had 
devoted to the pictures in the Berlin Museum, thinking it was sure 
to rain again that day. 

The Norway plan, moreover, with the consequent division of the 
party it entailed, unsettled all their minds, and gave to each one the 
vague feeling of unrest, which sometimes takes possession of the traveller, 



BERLIN. 



237 



and deprives him, while it lasts, of the power to enter into tlie present 
scene, and grtisp the meaning of the objects of interest under his 
notice. Everyone who. has travelled, remembers places which failed, 
for reasons of this sort, to make their due impression. The Horners 
said afterward that they did not like Berlin ; if they had been thei-e 




QUEEN LOUISE AND NAPOLEON. 



under other circumstances, they would have found it, as have many 
iithusiastic visitors, a delightful place. 

Nevertheless, they succeeded in seeing, between the drops, the chief 
buildings of importance. They drove to Charlottenburg, to see the 
mausoleum which holds the beautiful marble monuments of Frederick 
William III. and his wife, the parents of the present emperor. 

It was prince William III. who had to bear the brunt, in his kingdom, 



23S 



A FAMILY FLKrllT. 



of Napoleon's ambition, who, jealous of the independence of Prussia, 
was determined to humble it. The battle of Jena was the consequence, 
and Bonaparte entered Berlin as a conqueror. The queen Louise, 
beautiful and popular, sought to mediate with Napoleon, but he treated 
her with great rudeness. He carried off with him the sword of 





BRANDENBURG GATE. 



Frederick the Great, and the Car of Victory from the Brandenburg 
gate. 

These things heaped up bitterness between the Frencli and 
Germans. The crowning of the present emperor at Versailles, in 
1871, was the revanche of the Germans. 

As the Homers drove under the Brnndenburg gate, Mr. Horner 
pointed out this chariot, with its foiir bronze horses, saying : 

"They have travelled farther than steeds of their material are 



BERLIN. 241 

apt to ; having made the journey to Paris and back again." For 
after Napoleon's abdication, the bronze horses were restored. 

Mary and Miss Lejeune were the ones who enjoyed Berlin the 
most. They were often missing from the party of sight-seers, and 
if so, only to be found before their beloved old masters, catalogue in 
hand. The picture-gallery of the Berlin Museum, though inferior to 
to those of Dresden and Munich, contains good pictures by a greater 
number of different masters, especially of the old German and Italian 
schools, and is admirably adapted for the study of the history of art, 
as the rooms are arranged in order, according to the different schools. 
In each apartment, a list of the pictures it contains is hung on the 
wall. 

Mr. Hervey took Bessie and the boys to the Zoological Garden, 
where they saw delightful beasts; but the Nil-Pferd (Nile-horse) or 
hippopotamus, which used to be there, is dead. 

The theatre and opera at Berlin are admirable. They saw Don 
Carlos, Schiller's play, finely performed ; and were delighted to find 
that their knowledge of German was so much improved that they 
understood very well, although not every word. 

Meanwhile, in the evenings not otherwise employed, and also in 
the rainy mornings, they were busy reading up about Norway, while 
Mr. Hervey was getting together his guide-books and picking up 
information wherever he could, about travelling in that country. They 
had conversation-books in Norwegian, and endeavored beforehand to 
master a few important phrases. 

At the same time, Mr. Horner was occupied in laying out a plan for 
passing the month of July in Holland. The business which took him 
there was assuming greater importance, and from Mr. Agry, his part- 
ner in New York, now came letters of introduction to people in 
Amsterdam, and suggestions of steps to be taken. 

The early history of Norway is enveloped in darkness, and rests on 
traditions dating from the eleventh and twelfth centuries. The Abo- 
rigines are descendants of a branch of the great Gothic stock. The 
early settlers formed, for a long period, numerous small communities, 
which waged continual war upon each other, until Harald Haarfager, 



242 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 




BERLIN: STATUE OF FX!EDKKICK THE GKEAT. 

in 872, completed the conquest of them alL From this time, down 
to the middle of the thirteenth century, is comprised the heroic period 
of Norwegian history, replete with tales of grand warlike exploits, 
and great riches brought home hy vikings. 



BERLIN. 



243 



Danes and Norwegians alike were called Northmen ; the whole sea- 
board of Europe was visited by vikings, and they even penetrated to 
America ; and many wise people think as far as New England. 

The city of Trondhjeiu wus founded A. D. 997, by King Olaf 
Trygvason. The adventures of this prince are the most romantic of 
all the sovereigns of Norway. Born a prince, his mother only saved 
his life from the usurper of his rights by quitting the country ; they 
were taken by pirates, separated, and sold as slaves ; at an early age 
he was discovered and redeemed b}' a relative, became a distinguished 
sea-king, married an Irish princess, embraced Christianity, and ulti- 
mately fought his way to the throne of Norway in 991. He then 
became a zealous missionary, propagating the faith by the sword. 
Death or Christianity was the only alternative he allowed his subjects. 
In the year 1008, he went over to England to the assistance of Ethelred 
the Unready, against the Danes, who, however, put Ethelred to flight, 
and took the English throne : and in 1028, Canute the Great landed 
in Norway. He was at that time the most powerful monarch in 
Europe, and called himself king of England, Denmark, Sweden and 
Norway. Upon his death, his son was driven from the throne, and the 
native line was resumed. These early kings were crowned at Bergen. 




244 A FAMILY FLIGHT. 

Harold III. one of tlie greatest warriors of his age, invaded England, 
and was there slain in battle, fighting against Harold II. of Enghmd, 
who three weeks afterwards fell at Hastings, October 14th, 1066 ; thus 
ending the Saxon period in England. 

A Norwegian king, Hagen VL, married a danghter of Denmark, 
and when, in 1380, the crown descended to liis infant son, the two 
countries were united under the sceptre, and so remained down to 
1814. The daughter of Hagen was a famous queen Margaret, known 
as the Semiraniis of the North. She conquered Sweden, and u:'ited 
that country to her dominions ; but her successors liad not the ability 
to keep all the countries together. In 1523, Gustavus Vasa established 
the independence of that country, and shortly afterwards Norway was 
deprived of her parliament and reduced to a mere province of Denmark. 

In 1536, ti.e reformation was introduced, and gradually and peace- 
fully established, and for three hundred j^ears, under the rule of Den- 
mark, the Norwegians took a considerable part bi the literary and 
scientific life of Scandinavia, Copenhagen and its university being the 
intellectual centre. 

In 1813, the allied powers arranged an odd plan of dividing these 
countries. Napoleon had signed away to Russia the Swedish province 
of Finland, which did not belong to him ; Russia now indemnified 
Sweden by a present of Norway, to which she had no title, and Eng- 
land offered to Denmark an equivalent in lower Saxony, which was 
then in the possession of France. The Norwegians did not like their 
share in this bargaining. They were justly indignant at being thus 
transferred from Denmark to Sweden, without their consent, and deter- 
mined to resist it and declare their independence. But resistance 
was useless. After several months. Christian VIII. abdicated the 
throne of Norway, and the king of Sweden was elected in his place 
November 4, 1814 ; but the most favorable terms were offered the 
Norwegians, and the first article of the constitution declares that 
" Norway shall be a free State, independent, indivisible, ina-tenable, 
united to Sweden under the same king." The present sovereign, 
Oscar II.. and his queen, Sophia of Nassau, were crowned king and 
queen of Norway at the cathedral of Trondlijeni, on the 18tli July, 1873. 




ANTWERP CATHEDRAL. 



345 



246 



BEKLIN. 



In Berlin, Bessie and all the rest of them failed not to see the 
emperor to their heart's content, once at the opera, where he sat 
in the royal box surrounded by his handsome family, benignly listening 
to the music, and again driving in the Thier-Garten, Tlie}' admired his 
stalwart figure, and handsome genial countenance; but Bessie would 
not allow that he was anything more than a macliine-made emperor, 
not at all to be compared with Barbarossa and Charlemagne. Wiser 
heads in the party were ready to give him the high place he des«rvea 
in the history of the century. 

The Norwegians were to leave first, Mr. Horner wishing U see 




TKONDHJEM CATHEDKAL. 



them off, after which he, with Mrs. Horner and Philip, were to 
start direct for Cologne, and make no stop until they should reach 
Antwerp. This they successfully achieved, and their first letter, 
which was received by the others at Copenhagen, was dated within 
hearing of the chimes of the beautiful Gothic cathedral of that 
place. 



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